Rules
by parispal
Summary: In high school, you have to follow certain rules. Brittany is sick of them, while Santana lives by them.
1. Before and After

**A/N: Here I go again. I wanted to write a cannon(ish) story. I also wanted write a first person story for both girls. But then I wanted to write another college fic but also another adult Brittana story. So I'm going to do all that in this go around. This story will have three parts and sort of follows what happened on the show for the most part. It also won't be as fluffy as my last two so be forewarned. **

* * *

**Part I **

**Brittany**

Santana wanted to hang out after school.

This was the 10th day in a row Santana had wanted to hang out. A new record. Well, a new record since she started dating Puck. Before Puck, we'd hung out every school day and every weekend. After Puck, I was lucky to get three days alone with her.

Before Puck, we would spend every day together and hang out all the time. We were like those Siamese cat twins except we weren't actually attached by a body part. Maybe our vaginas. We had been like that ever since we meet at cheerleader tryouts back in Freshman year. It was awesome.

Before Puck, we'd make out every day and have sexy sleep overs sometimes. And by sexy sleep overs, I mean have sex. This was something we started to do just this past summer. I'm still not totally sure how it started but I'm glad it did because I really enjoyed being with her.

We've only done it a few times. OK, 21 times. I keep count. Everything was going great until two months ago. The last time we had sexy times, I did something Santana didn't like. I spoke.

Santana didn't like talking after we finished, or even during. She liked to go straight to sleep or leave. I mean, I didn't say anything bad. I just told her I loved being with her and that I really cared about her. How is that bad?

After that time, we hadn't had any sexy times or sweet lady kisses. It sucked. It was like I got to have chocolate cake everyday for dinner and one day it got replaced by broccoli. Gross. I hate broccoli.

Santana got moody sometimes and I usually just had to wait and she'd go back to normal after a couple of days. This time though, it was over two months and she still hadn't gone back to normal. I should have known this time was different because Santana started dating Puck soon after I made the mistake of talking.

She always cared about what people thought of her and that she was seen as Top Bitch, but it seemed she had gotten more obsessed with that since she started dating Puck. Sure, he was the captain of the football team and according to high school rules, that made him king of the school. Santana finally got her wish to be queen. Sort of. If we were going by high school rules, Quinn was really queen since she was captain of the Cheerios, but I never brought that up.

I asked her if she was mad because I spoke and she said no. She reminded me that the only reason we were having sexy times was for practice for when we got real boyfriends. I guess, she didn't need to practice anymore. It made me sad because I really liked being with her.

Anyway, I didn't want to think about that now because Santana wanted to hang out for the 10th day. I missed sweet lady kisses but I was happy to just spend time with her.

I practically skipped to the passenger side of Santana's car. I opened the door and got in, seeing a smiling Santana behind the wheel. "What do you want to do today? Oh! Quinn said that some of the Cheerios were going to Breadstix after school. We could go there."

Santana buckled her seatbelt, started the car and drove into traffic. "Nah," she said, "Let's hangout at your place."

"What? Are you feeling sick?"

"I'm fine," she laughed, "Why?"

"You just said no to going to Breadstix." In all the time I had known Santana, she had never turned down Breadstix. Not even when she got the flu and could hardly get out of bed.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "I'm saying no to Breadstix right now. It's like 4 o'clock. My Abuela doesn't even eat dinner this early. We can order Breadstix later."

"Oh. It's still weird." I turned on the radio and started singing along making Santana laugh. We got to my house and no one was home. It was Thursday and on Thursdays my dad got home late and my mom took my sister to soccer practice. "You wanna watch a movie?"

Santana stepped past me and headed straight upstairs. "No movie."

I closed the door and followed Santana who headed straight to my room. She dropped her things on the floor and sat on the bed. I dropped my bag next to hers but stayed by the door.

"Do you want to listen to music?" Santana just smirked at me and patted the spot next to her on the bed. "You wanna jump on the bed?"

Santana laughed. She got up and pulled me to the bed, both of us falling on it and I knew what she wanted to do. "Oh. Really?"

Santana adjusted herself on top of me, our Cheerio uniforms riding up and I could feel her smooth legs against mine. I loved that feeling.

"Why do you seem so surprised? It's what we do."

"Yeah, but we haven't done this in a while. You don't need practice anymore." What I really wanted to say was that we hadn't really gotten our sweet lady kisses on since that day I said too much. I was kind of afraid to say the wrong thing and make her mad again.

"You know what Coach Sylvester says, 'there's no such thing as too much practice.'"

"But isn't this cheating? I mean, you have a boyfriend now."

She shook her head. "It's not cheating when the plumbing is different." Santana leaned down and started kissing my neck and running her hand up my thigh. She always started by kissing my neck and it always made me feel all mushy.

I closed my eyes and smiled. No broccoli today. Today I was having chocolate cake.

Once she finished sucking on my neck, she licked up to my ear and sucked on my earlobe. Another thing that turned me all mushy. "Is this kissing practice or, um, the other kind?"

Santana removed her lips from my ear and kissed me, hard. I opened my mouth and she slid her tongue inside. I moaned pretty loud. Since we started doing this, I discovered that I make a lot of sounds during sexy times with Santana. I can't help it. It feels really, really good. I've had sex with two other people, but I never made much noise.

She kept kissing me, her tongue fighting with mine, and then something amazing happened. She moaned just as loud as I did. She never made loud noises even though I knew she wanted to really badly. She would always hold back, but sometimes she slipped and made these noises that let me know she really enjoyed what we were doing.

She suddenly stopped kissing me and sat up, straddling me. She was breathing hard and had this really intense look in her eyes. It was so hot.

"Do you want me to turn off the lights?" I asked. My room was really bright with the light on and the sun still coming through the window. We always had sexy times in the dark. She liked it that way. So I was totally surprised when she shook her head.

"No, it's fine." She reached for the side zipper on her uniform and pulled it down. She took off her top showing me her black bra and her amazing boobs. I really loved boobs, especially hers. She reached behind her and unclasped her bra and took it off. Now she was on top of me, topless, with her big, beautiful breasts that I really wanted kiss. "Don't just lay there, Britt. Take your top off."

I took my top and bra off really fast and soon was topless just like Santana. I looked up at her and saw her bitting her lip but when she saw me looking, she quickly looked away. That's another thing Santana didn't like to do, look me in the eye during sexy times. Or even after.

She got off me and quickly took off her shoes and socks. Then she did the same to me. She then took off her spanks and underwear, leaving her totally naked. She was so beautiful. This was the first time I was able to see her like this in the light. OK, yeah, there were times I'd sneak a glance in the locker room, but this was totally different. This was amazing. Looking at how perfect Santana was, made me wetter. It made my lady parts feel like they were burning with anticipation of having Santana touch me.

I was so focused on looking at her I didn't realize she had reached over to me and started undressing me as well.

"Lift your butt."

I did and she took off my bottoms, leaving me naked too. She got back on top of me and it was then I felt how wet she was. She put her thigh between my legs and started grinding into me. I moaned really loud again and I could have sworn I saw a smile on Santana's face.

I lifted my leg and wrapped it around her waist and that just totally made everything so much better. Santana was riding my thigh and I was riding hers. I really loved this position because I could put my arms around Santana and bury my face in her neck. I really loved the way she felt against me and how her hot breath hit my ear and how I could almost make out her saying my name between breaths. I wasn't entirely sure she was saying my name, but it really seemed like she was so I liked to pretend I heard right.

"Britt….Brittany….Britt-Britt."

The first time we were together, it was a little clumsy but we got the hang of it fast. Now, on our 22nd time, we were totally in sync and, I like to think, connected. I swear it was like my body knew what hers needed and her body knew what mine needed. But I would never tell Santana that because I was sure she'd get mad.

Santana started grinding on me faster and faster, and I kept up with her. Her breasts were rubbing against mine and I really wished I could suck on her nipples.

My bed was rocking with how fast we were slamming against each other and I was so glad no one was home because the bedpost was hitting the wall pretty hard. Not to mention the moans, grunts, and screams that we were making. That Santana was making. I couldn't believe how loud she was being and not holding back.

Maybe this time it was different. It felt like it was. Maybe she missed being with me so much she broke up with Puck. I was pretty sure that this was still cheating even if the plumbing was different.

I started to feel that familiar pressure that meant I was going to cum really soon. I still had my face buried in Santana's neck, smelling that amazing mix of her body wash and sweat. I loved that smell. I loved everything about being with Santana and I wanted to always be with her.

"Brittany…Oh God…."

She definitely said my name that time and it was the first time she had said it so clearly. Things were different this time. I really wanted to kiss her so I placed my hand between Santana's face and made her face me and another amazing thing happened. She looked at me. She looked me in the eye for like 10 seconds before she leaned down and kissed me. I kissed her as long as I could before I had to pull away when my orgasm hit me and I screamed her name.

Santana kept pounding against me until she came really hard. I swore I heard my name again. What I was really sure about was hearing her moan really loud.

We stayed holding each other while our breathing slowed down. It must have been like five minutes before we moved again. "That was a great practice," I said.

She laughed and kissed my cheek and neck. "Practice isn't over yet. I did some research and I want to try something new."

"New?" My heart started beating fast again at the idea of trying something new with Santana. I still didn't know much about lady sex but I was sure we had done almost everything. Scissoring was my favorite. But I also liked what we just did. And when Santana used her fingers. And when I used my fingers on her.

Santana smirked and kissed me again. What was happening? Usually after we finish Santana would roll over and sleep or she'd get dressed. I smiled because I was so happy. She wasn't leaving, she looked at me and we were talking after finishing. Santana must have broken up with Puck and now wanted to be with me. I mean, that's the only explanation. Right?

"Open your legs, Britt," she breathed.

I actually gulped. I didn't think people really did that, but I did. Santana smiled and kissed me before kissing down my body. I opened my legs like she asked and she kept kissing me as she slid down. I finally got a clue as to this "new" thing she wanted to try and I was suddenly really turned on again.

In all our times together, we hadn't tried that. What was it called, anyway? I knew what it was called when you did it to a guy, but what do you call it when it was a girl? I looked down and saw Santana stop before reaching my… what? Pussy? Vagina? Dripping center? I read that in one of my mom's romance novels once.

Anyway, Santana was just staring at my, uh, vagina, let's got with that one, and breathing hard. I was starting to feel weird, like maybe I didn't look normal down there. I started to close my legs but Santana stopped me by placing her hands on my thighs.

"Don't," she said. She looked for just a bit longer before leaning down and licking my dripping center. No, that sounds dumb. My wet pussy. Now it just sounds dirty.

"Saaaaannnn." Again I moaned super loud and again was glad no one was home. Santana's tongue felt so, so good. It felt like Santana was licking me everywhere, and I could hear her moan against me. This feeling was one I didn't want to end. I'd never had anyone go down on me and if I had known how good it felt, I would have asked Santana to do this sooner.

I felt her tongue enter me and I arched my back and pushed myself against Santana's mouth. I could hear a slurpy noise and Santana pressing her face closer to me, moving her mouth like she was eating the most delicious meal. Wait, I think that's what you call it for a girl. Eating out.

Santana kept eating me out like it was her last meal. I was so close to another orgasm. My body was so tense and I couldn't hold back anymore. I came harder than the first time. I felt dizzy and like I couldn't move. I thought Santana would stop but she kept licking me, slowly, like she was savoring my taste.

After my breathing slowed down, Santana moved up my body and buried her face in my neck. "Did you like that, Britt-Britt?"

"Fuck, yeah," I said. I heard her giggle and it made me smile. "Can I do it to you?"

Santana lifted her head and looked at me. Again. She stared at me for five seconds this time and then nodded. I grinned and flipped us over so I was on top. I rarely got to be on top because Santana always wanted to be in control. I kissed her and she put her arms around me and kissed me back. She tasted different and I realized I was tasting myself on her lips. I would have thought it'd be gross, but it was actually really hot.

I kept kissing her because I wanted to be on top for a bit longer and I figured Santana would flip us over again to tell me to get on with going down on her. But she didn't. She let me stay on top and kiss her. I moved my hand between her legs and started massaging her and it felt like she melted.

"You're …. supposed to use, mmmm, your mouth, Britt."

I smiled and kept moving my fingers between her very slippery folds and rubbed her clit with my thumb. "I will." I kept doing that until I slipped two fingers in her and starting pumping them in and out.

"Oh fuck!" Santana gripped my shoulders really tight and started making those sexy noises again. I did't want her to cum on my fingers. I really did want to use my mouth, so I pulled out and before Santana could complain, I moved down her body and took her in my mouth.

She tasted delicious. It was like eating the best chocolate cake in the world and by the sounds Santana was making, she really liked what I was doing. Santana was so wet and warm and I drank as much of her as I could. Eating Santana out could easily turn into my new favorite thing. I moved my tongue between her lips and then slipped it inside her where she felt even hotter.

I was sure I was doing things right because Santana was panting and moaning and I knew she was going to cum soon. God, she tasted so good. I wish we had done this sooner. I took my tongue out of her and sucked on her clit really hard. Santana finally lost control and came.

"Britt…"

She still was so wet, even after cumming. Now I know why Santana kept licking me after I came. I moved up her body and kissed her so she could taste herself like I had done. She kissed me back.

This time was definitely different.

I moved down a bit and rested my head on her chest while we both rested. When we were both breathing normally again, I took a risk and spoke.

"That was awesome."

"Hmmm," she hummed, "Yeah, it was. We're like sex Gods."

I was feeling so good, so comfortable that I kept on talking. "We need to do that again."

"For sure." Santana's voice was slow and lazy. She sounded content and relaxed.

I started thinking about tomorrow and if we could do this again after school but then I remembered we had Cheerios practice and I hoped we weren't too tired. Laying there with Santana, I suddenly thought about Glee club. "Glee was fun this week."

Santana just hummed. It sounded like she was falling asleep.

"We should do that assignment. Together," I said.

"What assignment?"

"You know, the love song assignment," I said, "Mr. Shue said for us to pick a song to sing and that we could do a duet or group number. I was thinking that we could do a duet."

As soon as I finished my sentence I knew I had messed up again. I felt Santana's whole body tense up.

"We are not singing anything together," she said. She pushed me away and sat up.

"If you don't want to, it's fine," I said trying to calm her down. "I just thought…."

"OK, let's get something straight," Santana said as she got out of bed and picked up her clothes, "I'm not with you because I'm in love with you and want to have lady babies. Puck's in juvie this week and I needed a warm body. Don't think this was some sort of sappy romantic thing. It was just sex."

My chest felt really tight all of a sudden. "You're still with Puck?"

"Duh, of course."

I felt really sad all of a sudden. She was almost fully dressed and I suddenly felt really uncomfortable being naked. I reached under me and pulled at my bedspread and got in, covering myself up as much as I could. "So, you just hung out with me this whole week because Puck was in jail?"

Santana rolled her eyes and sighed. "Don't be all drama queen about this Brittany. I had free time and I decided to spend it with my best friend."

I was wrong. This time wasn't different. This time was just like the other times. "I'm glad you could fit me in," I spat out. I thought she spent time with me this week because she missed me but it was just because her boyfriend was in jail. She was bored and horny. I felt really dirty and not the good kind.

"What's the big deal?" Santana asked, now fully dressed and fixing her hair, "We have lady sex then forget about it. It's always been like that so I don't know why you're getting all weird now." She finished fixing her hair and picked up her Cheerios bag. "Come on, get dressed. If we hurry we can still catch Quinn and the rest of the girls at Breadstix."

Before I could answer, Santana was out the door. I screwed up again and spoke. I should have kept my mouth shut.

**-tbc-**


	2. Guys and Girls

The next morning, I texted Santana and told her not to pick me up because my mom was going to take me. I did't want to see her so early in the day and I wasn't sure I wanted to see her later in the day either.

We had gone to Breadstix and hung out with the other Cheerios for awhile and it was like nothing had happened between us. Just like the other 22 times. It was my fault for thinking things were different. It was my fault that I made yesterday more than it was.

I got to school and the first person I saw was Puck. I guess he was out of jail or whatever. Thinking back, I realized I hadn't seen him all week but I didn't think anything of it until yesterday.

I walked past him to get to my locker and he called out to me. "Yo, Ms. Brittany. Where's Santana?"

I turned to him and shrugged my shoulders. "She's your girlfriend, you should know."

"Whoa! Who threw up in your cereal this morning?"

"Eww."

Puck walked to me and blocked my way. He was always nice to me and helped me out sometimes when I got my classes confused and I used to like him a lot. He was a jerk to the lower class, but nice to me. Right now though, he was really annoying me. "It's an expression. So, Santana? Didn't she come to school with you?"

I shook my head. "My mom brought me today."

"Cool. Well, if you see her, tell her not to make any plans today cause we have lots of catching up to do," he said with a smug smile.

I'm glad I didn't eat any breakfast because I would have thrown it up all over him. "She has a phone. Call her."

"I have," he said, "I left like a million messages but she hasn't answered."

I sighed. I just wanted to get away from him. "She probably forgot to charge her phone. I gotta go."

Puck moved to the side and let me pass. "Later Brittany."

I went to my locker, got my things and went to my fist class. I was really glad Santana wasn't in that class with me. I still wasn't ready to see her.

###

I couldn't avoid Santana in my second class because she had the same one and sat next to me. English was my worst subject but I got through it with Santana's help. When I entered the room, Santana was already there.

"Hey," she said as soon as I sat down, "How are you?"

"Fine." I took out my book, notebook and pen.

"Why did your mom bring you to school today?"

"Cause she's my mom and that's what moms do," I said. I hadn't looked at her yet and focused my attention on setting up my stuff. Santana didn't like eye contact so I was just doing what she wanted.

"OK," she said slowly, "Listen, it's Friday. It's our day to hang out, so how about we go out for ice cream after practice, then go to a movie?"

I finally looked at her and saw that she had this weird expression. Almost like she was sorry about something. "You have plans."

"Huh?"

"I ran into Puck and he told me to tell you not to make plans today. He said you guys have a lot of making up to do. He said he left you a million messages." I turned away from her and faced the front of the classroom, watching the other students come inside.

"Oh, he's back," she said. I swear she almost sounded disappointed. She took out her phone and frowned. "Shit. I forgot to charge my phone." She put her phone away and sighed. "Well, so what? He can wait another day. So, ice cream and movie? What do you say?"

I turned to face her again. "Really?" This would be the 11th day in a row. Another new record.

"Really." Santana smiled at me and gave me a wink.

Maybe she felt bad about yesterday and wanted to make it up to me. I let myself smile. "OK. Yeah, let's do it."

"Awesome."

###

When the last bell rang, I went to Cheerios practice. We had a big competition again. I wasn't sure if it really was big since Coach Sylvester said every competition was very important. I didn't care as long as I wasn't sitting in some boring classroom.

I ran to the field and joined the rest of the girls. I spotted Quinn and she looked mad. Again. She always looked mad even when she wasn't. Her resting bitch face was perfection.

"Hey, Quinn!"

Quinn's bitch face transformed to a smiling bitch face. "Brittany! Just the person I wanted to see."

"I can't tell if you're happy to see me or you're planning to double cross me and kidnap my hamster."

Quinn's smile got bigger and she now looked like the sweetest person in the world. "You have a hamster?" I shrugged and shook my head. "OK, well, I'm not going to double cross you. I wanted to see if you could help me nail the last move in the routine. I keep tripping over my own feet. I look like a drunken seal."

"Oh!" I jumped up a little and smiled. I wasn't super smart and I was always the one needing someone to teach me things, but with dance, I was the teacher. Dancing I could understand perfectly. And math too for some weird reason. "I can totally help you!"

"Awesome."

I took Quinn by the hands and put her in position. This was a tricky move and half the squad still couldn't do it but they weren't as important as Quinn. She was our captain. I stood behind her and put my hands on her hips. "So, I saw you last time and you're totally putting all your weight on the wrong side."

"I didn't even realize." She patted my hands and straightened her posture. "OK, Britt. Show me."

I gripped her hips tighter and was about to guide her in the right direction when I looked up and saw Santana talking to Puck across the field. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach that our ice cream and movie time was going to be canceled. I guess they got their Spidey Sense turned on because they both turned to look at me and Quinn.

Puck bit his lip and made this pervert face. Santana scrunched up her face and narrowed her eyes.

"Wooohoo!" Puck yelled from across the field. "Get it Pierce!"

"God, he's such an asshole," Quinn groaned, "I swear he can make a pat on the head seem sexual. Don't listen to him, Britt. Show me the move."

I ignored Puck and Santana and helped Quinn with the move. She did better, but still didn't quite have it down. I positioned myself behind Quinn again and that's when I realized Santana, Puck, Finn and some other football players were standing way closer to us and watching.

"Get out of here," Quinn said, "We're trying to practice. Something you guys should be doing considering you've lost six games in a row."

I smiled and felt like I could relax more. Then I saw the annoyed look on Santana's face.

"Those losses are just a to throw off the other teams." Puck sounded really defensive. "Besides, I'm always up for taking a break to witness some girl-on-girl action."

I rolled my eyes and took my hands off Quinn's hips. "I'm showing her a move."

"I bet you are," Puck leered. That earned him some cheers form the guys.

"Cut it out Puck!" Santana rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Fabray being a clumsy oaf and needing help is nothing to get worked up over."

"Fuck you Santana," Quinn shot back.

Santana smirked. "No thanks."

I wanted those guys to leave so I could finish teaching Quinn before Coach Sylvester showed up. "Well, I want to finish teaching so you guys should go."

"Can't wait to get your hands on Quinn again?" Puck teased.

"God damn it Puck!" Santana almost shouted, "I told you to stop. Besides, if Frankenteen over there wasn't such a wuss, Quinn wouldn't need to get her rocks off from an innocent touch."

"Hey!" Finn stopped smiling and looked mad.

Puck slapped Finn on the shoulder. "Hey, my boy here can do just fine. But I hear Brittany is just as capable of pleasing the ladies. I am I right, Brittany?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I mean, I definitely pleased Santana even if she tried to hide it from me. I had made out with some other girls too and they seemed to really like what I did. "I guess so."

I turned to Santana and saw that she had dropped her hands to her side, making a really tight fists with both hands and shaking a little bit. Her eyes were really wide and her breathing was a bit faster. I frowned. I knew she was scared I'd tell everyone about our special practice, but I would never. One of the rules Santana had insisted we follow when we started practicing, was not to tell anyone.

The only time I sort of slipped was when the Glee club called each other and I said something about me and Santana dating cause we were having sex. I think that's what I said, I really don't remember. All I know is that Santana had been mad at me for that. Luckily, the Glee club forgot about it and never mentioned it again.

"I knew it!" Puck laughed. He lifted his hand wanting me to high-five him, but before I could, Santana pulled his hand down. "Oww! What's your problem?"

"My problem," Santana said, sounding really mad, "Is you harassing my best friend with your idiotic lesbian accusations."

"I didn't say she was a lesbian," Puck said, "I've seen her make out with girls and guys at parties. I was just teasing because I ran into Eva Cruz at the mall yesterday and she asked about Brittany."

"She did?" I asked, surprised. I remembered Eva. She was super cute and nice and we had a serious make out session a few months ago. She went to Carmel High across town but we sort of lost touch. She also had great boobs. "What did she say?"

"Who the fuck is Eva Cruz?" Santana asked.

"That's the chick Brittany had sex with at the Carmel party," Puck said with a smile, "Nice job by the way.'

Santana turned to me so fast I thought her head would fall off. "You had sex with her?"

"No," I said, "We just made out. All I really remember from that party is making out with Eva, dancing, and that bird fountain. I had a lot to drink." I turned to Puck. "Did she say we had sex?"

Puck laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I just hoped that's what had happened. She just wanted me to tell you hi and that she sent you a friend request like weeks ago and you still haven't accepted."

I always forgot to check my requests. "Oops. I'll add her later."

"Is she the one with the really light brown eyes that is always showing cleavage?" Quinn asked me. I smiled and nodded. "Huh. I think that bitch owes me money."

Santana kept staring at me like those SVU cops on that show when they had a bad guy in that mirror room. "I was at that party," Santana said, "I don't remember you going off with any girl."

"That's cause you left me to hang out with Puck an hour after we got there," I said and Santana seemed to back off. That was back when she was teasing Puck and the other football players. She said it was strategy to get in with the popular crowed.

"Whatever," Santana said, "This whole conversations is ridiculous. Brittany was drunk and didn't know what she was doing. She doesn't have sex with random girls and she's definitely not a lesbian, so leave her alone."

Everyone turned to the field when a whistle blew, the coach was calling the football players to line up. All the guys left without another word. I was left with Quinn and Santana staring at me. "What?"

"I never realized," Quinn said, "You do make out with guys _and_ girls."

"Is that bad?" I asked. It didn't feel bad. I liked kissing boys and girls and didn't see what the big deal was.

Santana spoke first. "You shouldn't be making out with random girls at parties."

"But random boys is OK?" Quinn asked with a laugh. "Brittany, you shouldn't be making out with random boys or girls. You're a pretty girl and popular, you should get yourself a boyfriend. Or girlfriend, I don't care. It looks better for the squad if you're in a relationship. Like I am with Finn and Santana is with Puck."

I turned to look at Santana who clenched her jaw and looked away. "So being single is bad?"

"Yes," Quinn said, "This is Junior year, Brittany. It will look bad if you go in to Senior year single."

I took a deep breath. I really didn't like anyone enough to be their girlfriend. Except for Santana. If Santana asked me to be her girlfriend, I'd totally say yes. But that would never happen. "So, if I got a girlfriend, that would be OK?"

Quinn put her hands on her hips. "Look, ideally, it would be best if you dated one of the football players to preserve the popularity lineage. But, if you want to dip your toe in the Sapphic love pond, you're going to have a hard time. We don't have any lesbians at this school."

I knew she was wrong.

Santana finally turned to look at me, and looked really frustrated. "Good grief. Brittany, you're not a lesbian so stop talking about dating girls. Quinn's right, you should get a boyfriend. I say you date Hummel again. You guys were cute together."

"Kurt?" I almost laughed. "We dated for like three days and broke up because he was the gayest gay to ride a unicorn over a rainbow."

"Don't be ridiculous, Santana," Quinn said, shaking her head, "Look Brittany, there's still time. Junior year just started but make sure to find someone before the semester ends."

I really wanted to tell Quinn that this was a dumb idea. Who cares if I'm single or with someone. I dated Mike Chang last year for a few months so that should still count. How is that going to make me a better Cheerio? Sometimes I really hated high school and all its rules. I hoped college wasn't like this.

Coach Sylvester came out to the field and started yelling. Time to get to work

####

As soon as I finished showering and changing into jeans, a white sweater with an elephant on it and my boots, I took my gym bag and went to my locker. I told Santana I would meet her outside at the steps after I got my math book.

Santana said she just needed to check on something and she'd go get the car. She didn't tell me what that was but I figured it had to be important. I went out the back exit that led out to the student parking lot and sat on the steps.

Most of the students were already gone and only the ones who had after school clubs were around. After about 10 minutes I took out my phone to check the time. I got up and walked closer to the parking lot and tried to find Santana's car but I forgot where she parked it.

I unlocked my phone to text her when a text from her popped up.

**Sorry Britt, change of plans. Can't make make it after all. How about a raincheck? **

It felt like my heart had dropped to my stomach. I put my hand on my chest just to make sure it was where it was supposed to be. It was. I looked at the text again and felt like screaming. I knew it. I knew it as soon as I saw her talking to Puck in the field. This wasn't the first time she had ditched me for Puck and I felt so stupid for not expecting it to happen again.

Before Puck, she would always make sure I came along. She told me once that she had to put Puck first now that they were a couple. When I dated Mike, I always put her first and I couldn't understand why she couldn't do that with me.

I looked out into the parking lot again and spotted Santana, Puck, Quinn and Finn walking to her car. They were laughing and having fun. Santana unlocked the car and they all got in, Quinn and Finn in the backseat.

I quickly texted her back.

**That sux. Next time then. **

I saw her bow her head and within seconds I got a reply.

**Cool**.

I rolled my eyes and put my phone away. I saw Santana's car drive out of the parking lot and I suddenly realized I didn't have a ride home. When Santana had invited me out, I had called my mom and told her I didn't need a ride.

"Shit."

The days were getting really short and it was already getting dark. I knew it would be totally dark before I even got halfway home.

"Brittany?"

I jumped a little at the voice behind me and turned around. It was Rachel. "Oh, hey."

"What are you doing staring out into the parking lot? Do you see a a man with a raincoat?" she asked, as she scanned the parking lot.

"Uh, no. I just…I don't have a ride so I was about to start walking home."

"Oh." Rachel adjusted her backpack and stepped closer. "Well, as captain of the Glee club, it would be irresponsible of me to let a fellow member walk home alone in the dark. I will give you a ride."

Santana and Quinn always told me that I should be mean to Rachel because she was annoying. And, yeah, she was annoying but I didn't like being mean to her. Or anyone actually. Right now though, Rachel was not being annoying, she was being nice. "Thanks Rachel," I said and smiled, "That would be awesome. I'm so tired from practice so walking was not going to be fun."

"Of course!" Rachel grinned really big and started walking to the parking lot. "I'm glad to help. Good thing I stayed late to practice some songs. Come on, my car is this way. I like your sweater by the way."

"Thanks." I followed her to her car and started to feel better about being ditched.

"I have an array of animal sweaters," Rachel said, "I have an elephant one as well, but in blue."

"Awesome. I have a bunch of animal shirts and sweaters too. Maybe we can share."

We talked about animal clothes while we drove away from the school and I realized this was the most time I had spent with Rachel alone. She wasn't so bad. She was super full of herself, but I was finding out that everyone was.

"Brittany, I have a proposition for you," Rachel said halfway through the trip.

I hugged my bag to my chest. "Are you asking me to have sex with you?"

"WHAT?" Rachel swerved a little too hard. She got control of her car before she spoke again. "No, of course not. I was simply going to ask if you would like to join Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Artie, and me for some ice cream. I'm supposed to meet them there in a few minutes."

"Oh, umm, are you sure? I don't want to, like, ruin your five-way date."

Rachel laughed. "I insist. You joined Glee rather late last year and we haven't gotten a chance to get to know each other. Come on. What do you say?"

I bit my lip and thought about Rachel's offer. I was going to get ice cream anyway, and my mouth had been ready for it all day. The only thing different would be the people. I thought about going home and spending the rest of the night alone watching TV. That did not sound fun. "OK, I'll go. But only if you give me a ride home after."

"Deal!" Rachel made a turn and we headed to the Lima Plaza.

I could hang out with other people too.

**-tbc-**

* * *

** A/N: Thanks for the reviews and follows. As I mentioned this story will sort of follow the show but I'm mixing events and times around. I hope you all are liking it so far. **


	3. Desperate Times

I had a great time getting ice cream with the Glee Club and I sort of wished I had hung out with them sooner. I thought things would be awkward between Kurt and me, since we dated and all, but it was actually the opposite. It was way more awkward when we dated, but that was mostly due to the gayness.

They went for ice cream every Friday, until it got too cold then it was hot chocolate, and they invited me to join them every week. I was happy to have a guaranteed Friday night date again and I told them I would totally go.

I didn't hear from Santana the rest of the night. I didn't really miss her until Rachel dropped me off and I was alone in my room. I figured she didn't recharge her phone, so I wasn't too upset she didn't text me.

I didn't see or hear from her the whole weekend either. Saturday morning we got in the car and headed to Fort Wayne to visit my aunt for the weekend. I had to leave my phone behind because my sister dropped it in the toilet. My dad made me put it in a container of rice to fix it. I wondered if I put my panda socks in this magic rice, the hole on the big toe wold get fixed too.

"Mom! I'm ready!"

My mom was taking me to school again. She came rushing out of the kitchen looking kinda frantic. "Give me a minute Britt. Your sister's school is having their bake sale and I still need to pack the cupcakes." I looked at her hand and noticed she had my phone. "Here. I turned it on and you have like four hundred messages."

I took the phone and looked at the screen lit up with my wallpaper of me and Santana. "Whoa! The magic rice worked." Before I could check my texts, the doorbell rang.

"Who is here so early?" my mom asked.

I shrugged and went to open the door to find Santana there. "Oh! Uh, hey. What are you doing here?" I don't know why I suddenly got nervous seeing her. I felt like we had a fight but we really didn't.

"Wow," Santana said with a small laugh, "Not exactly the greeting I expected after not seeing each other for a couple of days."

"Oh, sorry," I said, "Hi, Santana."

She put her hands on her hips and opened her mouth to speak when my mom interrupted her.

"Santana, honey! I'm glad you're here."

Santana looked past me and waved at my mom. "I'm glad someone is," she said and glanced at me. I looked away. "I'm here to take Britt to school."

My mom sighed that sigh that told me she was frustrated or annoyed. "Brittany, why didn't you tell me Santana was giving you a ride? I was going crazy getting everything done."

I should have told my mom that I had no idea Santana was coming over but instead I said I was sorry for forgetting. I got my things and followed Santana to her car. She didn't say anything until we were on the road.

"Where were you?"

I looked up from my phone, I had only managed to clear my Facebook notifications including accepting Eva's friend request. "Huh?"

"I called you like fifty times," she said, "I also came by a few times this weekend and no one was home."

"Oh, my sister dropped my phone in the toilet and my dad put it in magic rice." I checked my text messages next and there really were a lot from Santana. "We were visiting my aunt this weekend."

Santana sighed that frustrated sigh my mom did earlier. "Can you tell me next time so I'm not just waiting around? We had plans."

I was flabbergasted. A couple of months ago, my dad gave me one of those calendars that gave you a big word a day with the definition and that had been one of last week's words. I never thought I'd use it but I was using it now. "Flabbergasted."

"Did you say flabbergasted?"

"I said flabbergasted. I am flabbergasted! Flabbergast all around!" When Santana suddenly canceled or changed our plans, I just went along with it and didn't complain. Lately though, it was bothering me more and more and especially after the other night when she basically told me I was just her sex toy.

"Stop saying flabbergasted!" Santana stopped at a red light and turned to me. "What is wrong with you?"

"We had plans on Friday!" I said, my voice a little louder than I expected, "But you canceled to hang out with your boyfriend, Quinn and Finn." I saw her grip the wheel really tight and turn back to look at the road. The light had turned green again. "And you didn't say anything about having plans this weekend."

"I texted you but you ignored me." She drove into the school parking lot and drove into her spot. She turned off the car and turned to look at me.

"I told you my phone was in magic rice!"

"How did you know? About Friday?"

"I saw you," I said as I unbuckled my seatbelt, "I was waiting for you by the steps when I got your text. I saw all of you getting in your car and drive off."

Santana sunk back in her seat and looked down at her lap. "Oh."

I usually let things go but not today. "You should have told me sooner. I had already called my mom and told her I didn't need to get picked up because I was going with you."

Santana suddenly looked up. "Shit! I didn't even think of that. I'm sorry Britt. Did you walk home? Fuck! It was already getting dark and you hate walking at night..."

"It doesn't matter." I put my phone away and grabbed by backpack. She never really thought about how the things she did affected me. "I got home eventually."

"Did you walk?"

I opened the door and got out. "A friend gave me a ride. I'll see you later." I closed the door and started walking to my first class.

###

As soon as I sat down in English, Santana started asking questions.

"What friend?"

"I have other friends," I said. Well, now I had other friends. I mean, I wasn't a lonely nerd or anything. I was one of the popular kids, but the only people I would consider friends were Santana and Quinn. I was so glad I had other friends now.

"Who? That Eva girl?" Santana sounded annoyed. "I saw you two are Facebook friends now."

"Eva doesn't even go here." I kinda wanted to keep who took me home a secret to make her more annoyed. If I hadn't seen her, she wouldn't have told me who she hung out with on Friday, so why should I?

"Hey, Brittany!"

I looked to my right and saw Artie rolling up to my desk. I totally forgot he was in this class. Actually, to be honest, I don't remember seeing him in this class before. "Hey Artie, are you visiting me?"

"Get lost, Stephen Hawking." Santana scowled.

"Be nice, Santana," I said. She seemed surprised I was defending Artie.

He smiled at me and ignored Santana. "No, I'm in this class with you. I sit up front but I wanted to say hi and confirm we're still on for Friday. My mom got me coupons for free sundaes so I want to make sure I get enough."

"Seriously?" I grinned and clapped my hands together. "That's awesome. Yeah, I'm totally on for Friday."

"Great." He was still smiling until he looked over at Santana's angry face and then he looked scared. "Well, I'll see you in Glee."

He rolled away and Santana turned her attention to me. "Him? He's the 'friend'? And what the hell is this about Friday? Don't tell me you're going on a date with that loser. I know Quinn told you to get a boyfriend but I didn't think you'd scrape the bottom of the barrel."

"He's nice!" I almost shouted. Some students turned to look at us so I lowered my voice. "And yes, he's my friend. And so are Mercedes, Tina, Kurt and Rachel. So don't say mean things about them."

"The Glee losers?" Santana groaned and reached for my hand. "Brittany, they are not people you want to hang out with, OK? It's OK to talk to them in Glee club, but outside that room, we have to pretend we don't know them. Those are the rules. The only reason we're even in that club is because Sue made us. And I'm pretty sure she forgot about her dumb plan to destroy that club."

I was getting mad and I hated getting mad. I hated the way it made me feel. "They are my friends now. Rachel gave me a ride and she invited me out for ice cream with the Glee club on Friday and it was a lot of fun. They go out every Friday and asked me to join them every week. I said yes." Even though Santana's hand was soft and warm and gave me little tingles, I took my hand away.

"But Friday is our day," Santana said, softly, "I mean, our day to hang out."

The teacher came in the classroom and started writing on the board.

"It used to be," I pouted, "But, you've canceled on me like three Fridays now since you started dating Puck. And…that's…whatever. You should go out on double dates with Quinn and Finn on Fridays. Those are the rules."

"I…," Santana's eyes looked watery and I wondered if her allergies were acting up again. Maybe someone in here was wearing cashmere. Santana was allergic. "Never mind," she said, sitting up straight and clenching her jaw, "I should do those double dates. After all Quinn, Finn, Puck and I are the super-couples of this school."

I shook my head and opened my book. Fridays weren't our day anymore and it made me sad.

###

Things were a bit weird between Santana and me the next couple of days. We weren't fighting and we were still talking and acting like best friends, but something felt off.

I also didn't like that she and Puck were all over each other at school. It was the weirdest thing because Santana would only throw herself at him during lunch or when the hallways were packed. When it was just me around, she practically ignored him. They had a weird relationship.

Quinn kept bugging me about finding someone to date and it was really starting to get on my nerves. I wanted to find someone just to shut her up. I kept my eye out to see who I could date but no one stood out.

Artie was nice but he had the biggest crush on Tina, so he was out of the question. I knew Rachel had two dads, so maybe she would be open to being my girlfriend for a while. I made a note to ask her later. Though, the most sure bet would be Mike. He was on the football team, I actually liked spending time with him, he was hot, and we had already dated. Plus he was single.

I had narrowed down my options to Mike and Rachel. Rachel was a long shot, plus I wasn't that attracted to her, but desperate times called for desperate plans.

During Glee, I sat in the back with Santana and watched Rachel and Kurt sing their love song. I still wasn't sure what I was going to do about this assignment. I really didn't want to get up there alone but everyone already had chosen a song. Santana had decided to sing a love duet with Puck. It really hurt but there was nothing I could do. They were dating after all.

After Rachel and Kurt finished, everyone cheered.

"Thank you, thank you." Rachel always looked the happiest when she was the center of attention. "We worked really hard on this song."

Santana leaned close to me and whispered in my ear. "She's the worst. Have you ever met anyone so full of themselves?"

Without thinking I said yes. "Anyway, she's not so bad."

"Oh, right," Santana said rolling her eyes, "You guys are friends now."

"Please don't start," I said. We were doing good so far and I didn't want to fight again.

Santana crossed her arms. "Whatever."

After Glee, Santana left with Puck and I stayed behind to talk to Rachel. She always stayed behind to organize music sheets and was the last to leave. Mike had left as soon as we were dismissed so I couldn't talk to him yet.

She was standing by the piano when I walked to her. "Rachel?"

"Hi Brittany!" Rachel had the biggest smile and I knew she was happy to talk to me. "Did Artie give you your coupon for Friday?"

"Oh, no. I told him to hold it for me because I'm sure I'll lose it by then."

"Good idea," she said, "So what can I help you with? Do you need a ride home?"

"No… well, maybe." Santana was supposed to give me a ride home but since she had gone off with Puck, I expected her to cancel. "But I wanted to ask you for a favor."

Rachel's eyes lit up. "Do you need help with your love song? I know you go next time but you haven't told us what you're singing. I can definitely help."

Shit. I had completely forgotten I was next for the assignment. I hadn't even picked a song yet. After Santana had refused to sing with me, I just didn't bother. "OK, I need two favors then."

"Of course. What are they?"

"Well, I still don't have a song so I need some help."

Rachel clapped her hand together and gave a little jump. "Fantastic! I have the perfect suggestion for you. And if you want, I'd be happy to sing with you, do a duet."

That really made me smile. Ever since she gave me a ride last week, we've talked and hung out a more. I had let Quinn and Santana convince me that she was an annoying hobbit but they were totally wrong. "That would be awesome. Yeah, a duet would be great. I have no idea what to sing."

"Don't worry. How about we get started now and I'll just take you home after?"

I went back to the chairs and put my bag down. I then took out my phone and texted Santana that I didn't need a ride. She immediately texted me back.

**Are you kidding? I'm waiting for you by the steps already. Who's giving you a ride?**

I rolled my eyes. I rarely canceled or changed plans on Santana but she did it to me all the time. It made me mad she was getting upset. I texted her back that I was going to hang out with some of the Cheerios.

Santana responded with just one word.

**Whatever**.

I put my phone away and turned to Rachel. "OK, let's get started."

"Oh, what was the second favor you needed?" Rachel asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I was just going to see if you wanted to be my girlfriend for a couple of weeks. But we can talk about that later."

Rachel's mouth fell open and her eyes went really wide. I went to sit on the piano bench and waited for her to start talking again.

####

Next time Glee club met, it was my turn to sing my song. It was also Santana and Puck's turn and they were currently up front singing their dumb love song duet. They sounded horrible together. I sat in the back, my arms crossed and just stared at Brad the piano guy. He got a hair cut and looked pretty good for an old guy.

I couldn't even look at Santana while she sang and danced, not after she had totally shot me down. Just because we weren't an official couple didn't meant we couldn't sing together. Rachel sang with Kurt. Tina sang with Mercedes. Mike sang with Artie. Quinn sang with Finn, but that was a bad example because they were a couple. The point was that the assignment didn't say anything about having to be an official couple.

I knew that Santana was afraid people would find out about our sexy times and I'm sure that's why she didn't want to do the duet. But, like, it wasn't like I wanted to sing a song about us having lady sex.

I heard applause and figured they had finished their song. I turned my attention to Santana who was smiling really big, until she saw me and her smile disappeared. She looked down at the ground and quickly rushed to her seat near the front. She hadn't sat next to me today.

"That was great," Mr. Shue said, "Good job you two! OK, next we have Brittany!"

I took a breath and walked to the front and faced everyone. I took a quick look at Santana and she had her head turned but I knew she was looking at me through her side eyes. "I'm going to sing 'You've got a Friend' by Robert Flock and Ann Hathaway…"

"Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, Brittany," Rachel corrected.

"Oh right, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway," I said, "I really wanted to sing a duet but didn't have a partner…." I glanced at Santana and saw her jaw clench before she looked at me. "…But I'm happy to announce, I found a partner who is pretty awesome and not annoying. Well, not as much as I thought."

Rachel got up and stood beside me. "It's me!"

"Are you kidding me?" Santana almost shouted, "You're singing a love song with Hobbit Berry here?"

"Don't call her that," I said, "And yes, I am."

"You two make and adorable couple," Puck teased causing Santana to turn and glare at him.

"Well," Rachel said, "Brittany and I discussed that, but decided it's best if we stayed friends."

"WHAT?!" Santana stood up, the vain in her neck popping out a little. "What the hell does that mean?"

Mr. Shue shook his head and sighed. "OK, OK, everyone calm down," he said, "Santana sit down and let Brittany and Rachel sing their song."

Santana sat down, her eyes looking between me and Rachel. Rachel and I got into position and began to sing. I choreographed the dance moves and Rachel choreographed the singing words. I wasn't sure what it was called for words. After we were done everyone clapped and smiled. Except Santana. She looked pissed.

"Thank you!" I told everyone. I turned to Rachel an gave her a hug. "Thanks Rachel," I said into her ear.

Rachel leaned back and smiled. "Any time."

It was too bad Rachel couldn't be my girlfriend because she was pretty cool. But, she was right, we were better as friends. For one, I had no romantic or sex feeling for her at all. For two, Rachel only liked boys. So that left my options cut down to just Mike. I looked over at him and he was smiling and sent me a wink.

Mike would be a sure thing.

**-tbc-**

* * *

** A:N/ Wow, thank you so much for all the follows and reviews. I really do appreciate you taking the time for my little story. I hope not to disappoint too much. :-)**


	4. Rule Breaker

The rest of the week had been pretty normal. Santana still seemed bothered by my duet with Rachel but she didn't say anything. I could just sense she was still upset. It was now Friday and I went out with the Glee club and we got our free sundaes, then went to go sing Karaoke. Rachel even invited Santana, Quinn, Puck and Finn but they had laughed at her and said no. It made me so mad. I couldn't understand why we couldn't all be friends. These high school rules were so stupid. I really hated that Santana was so scared to break any of them.

The more I hung out with the Glee Club the more Santana hung out with Quinn, Puck and Finn. We hadn't hung out since that night we had sexy times. It felt like ages ago. She invited me to hang out with them one night but I said no. I didn't want to see Puck and Santana be all in couple mode. I felt like I was losing my best friend.

I asked Rachel if I could invite Mike to ice cream and she said it was a great idea. I thought he was going to laugh too but he said he loved ice cream and would love to join us. That's one of the things I really liked about Mike, he didn't really care about the high school rules and did what he wanted.

I still hadn't asked him to be my boyfriend but by the end of the night, I got the feeling he was going to ask me out. Again. He had left telling me that he had a question for me on Monday. He was either going to ask me out or ask me to help him with his math homework.

After Rachel dropped me off, I hung out with my family a little before going to my room and getting ready for bed. I was so tired. Once I was I was ready, I turned off the lights and got in bed. I wasn't sure how long I was asleep before I felt an arm around my waist. I jumped a little, scared, until I heard Santana whisper.

"It's me Britt," she said, "Go back to sleep."

I turned around and faced Santana and saw she was dressed in her usual sleep clothes of shorts and a tank top. "What time is it? What are you doing here?"

Santana leaned in and kissed me. "I thought a sleepover would be fun."

"I thought you were on your double date? Did my mom let you in?"

She groaned and got closer to me, burying her face in my neck. I tried not to think about how good she felt and how I wanted to hug her closer.

"Double date ended early and yes, your mom let me in. I told her we were having a sleep over and I went home to get my things."

I wasn't sure what to do. I mean, I loved that she was here with me but we hadn't slept together in the same bed all night in a really long time. Before Puck. I could feel that she wasn't here for sexy times and just wanted to sleep with me and I wondered if something had happened. Only last week she told me I was just her substitute sex partner. "Are you OK? Is Puck in jail again?"

She leaned back to look at me. My room wasn't completely dark because the moon was super bright and acting like a nightlight. "Why would you ask that?"

I shrugged. "Last time you said you were only with me because Puck was in jail so I figured that's why you're here now."

Maybe it was the moonlight but Santana's eyes looked sad. She moved away from me and laid flat on her back, looking up at the ceiling. She took a few deep breaths before she answered. "I'm here because…I mi…because I figured we could hang out since we haven't in a while." She sat up and removed the blanket covering her legs. "I'll go home."

She swung her legs to the side but I grabbed her waist and pulled her back. "Don't go."

She didn't fight me and let me pull her back. I covered her back up and made her my little spoon. I loved our sexy times, but I loved holding her more. I felt her relax and I buried my face in her neck. I thought she had gone asleep when she spoke.

"Did you really ask Rachel to be your girlfriend?"

Her question made me giggle. I remembered Rachel's face when I asked her and how weirded out she had been. I knew there was a chance she would say no, but it was worth asking just to see that look. "Yeah, I did."

Santana signed really loud and pulled my hand, the one holding her, up to her chest. "Why her? She's awful."

"She really isn't," I said, "If you hang out with her more, you'd probably like her." I took a breath and let Santana's scent fill me. I'd never get tired of it.

"Doubtful." Santana started caressing the back of my hand and it felt so good I was starting to get sleepy. "Don't ask out any girls, OK?"

"Why?"

She sighed again. "Because, you're not gay. And no one at the school is so you're wasting your time."

"Kurt's gay."

"I meant gay girls," Santana said, "I know Quinn is pressuring you to find someone so I'll help you. I'll talk to Jason Lytes and have him be your pretend boyfriend for a couple of weeks to get Quinn off your back."

"Jason?" I laughed this time. "He's so shy he'll probably wet his pants when I look at him. He never talks and he's so skinny I might break him if I hold his hand."

"It won't be real." Santana snuggled closer to me. "We'll talk about it later. Let's sleep."

There was no way I was going out with Jason who would probably cry if I got near him. I don't know why Santana even suggested him. If I had to date someone, I wanted it to be someone I could have fun with and actually liked. That's why I had asked Rachel because I knew we could do stuff together. I was still going to ask Mike on Monday despite Santana's plan to get me Jason.

###

I was surprised that Santana spent all weekend with me. Well, most of it anyway. She did have to go home and spend some time with her mom too. On Saturday night, she kept getting texts but she kept ignoring them. When she went to the bathroom, I took a look. I know I shouldn't have but I wanted to know who keep texting her and knowing her password made it easy.

The texts were from Puck asking her come to his place and, umm, do things. I knew they were a couple and couples had sex but I blocked all that out. The thought of Santana and Puck together made me sick. Her responses were a surprise because I would have thought she'd tell him she'd be right over, but she didn't. She kept telling him she was busy all weekend.

So, we hung out. We went to the park, the movies and all that stuff we do and it was so much fun. Even though I knew she wanted to, we didn't have sexy times or sweet lady kisses. I would catch her leaning in but then she'd suddenly pull back as if I caught doing something bad.

My dad had quit smoking a few years ago and it was super hard for him. He was totally addicted and had to struggle to not smoke anymore. The whole weekend, Santana reminded me of my dad but instead of quitting cigars, Santana was quitting sweet lady kisses.

When we got to school, we ran into Puck who immediately asked Santana out after school. I saw her shake her head but when Finn, Quinn and a couple of Cheerios joined the group, Santana immediately said yes. High school rules, I guess.

"So, Brittany," Quinn said, "Should we discuss you asking Rachel out?"

"I'd do her," Puck casually said, causing Santana to elbow him in his stomach. "Ooomph!"

"Gross," Santana said.

I just shrugged my shoulders at Quinn and she laughed a little. "I know I told you to find someone," she said, "But I didn't mean for you to get desperate with a loser like Berry."

"Please don't," I said. Now that I had gotten to know Rachel, I didn't like that everyone picked on her. "She's my friend so you should stop talking bad about her."

"Whoa," Puck laughed, "Brittany defending the losers. Calm down Britt, you're confused as usual."

I was getting so sick of the football players and Cheerios always picking on Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, Tina and anyone else they thought was a nerd. Why did they have to go out of their way to pick on them and even throw Slushies in their faces? Last week both Artie and Kurt had gotten a Slushie and had come to Glee club all blue. I felt so bad for them.

"Stop it!" I shouted. "I'm sick of all of you making fun of the Glee Club! You and your stupid high school rules. Guess what? I don't want to play."

"Britt…." Santana tried to calm me down. She looked almost scared that I was standing up the popular kids.

"No," I said sternly, "I don't care if it looks bad that I'm not dating anyone. When I find someone I like, I'll let you know but I'm not going to date someone just cause you tell me to."

"Brittany, calm down," Santana said. She kept looking back at the football players and Cheerios as if she was embarrassed by what I was saying. I wished she didn't care so much what they thought.

"Yeah, Brittany," Finn said, "It's not that serious."

I grabbed the straps of my backpack and shook my head. "Never mind. I'm going to class."

I turned and left hearing whispers and murmurs from the group as I walked away. My whole plan to ask Mike out forgotten. Even if I did want to go out with him, I wasn't going to ask him out now and let them think they won.

###

Santana had been quiet in the classes we shared before lunch. All she would say is that she would fix this. I don't know what there was to fix but I didn't ask any questions. I just wanted to forget what happened.

Mike had found me and he didn't ask me out. He asked me if I could help him with his math homework and we set up a day later in the week to study. Oh well, I guess my instinct was wrong.

At lunch, I got my food and scanned the cafeteria for a place to sit. I saw my usual table with Santana, Quinn, Puck, Finn and the other football players and Cheerios but I didn't want to sit with them. I kept scanning and saw the table where all thee Glee kids sat. I went to sit with them.

"Hi Brittany!" Mercedes said, "What's up?"

"Hey everybody. Umm, is it OK if I sit with you today?"

Everyone looked super surprised.

"Of course," Kurt said, "But Britt, you do realize everyone will see you sitting here?"

"I don't care," I said as I sat down at the end of the table, next to Artie, "I don't feel like following the rules today."

"What rules?" Rachel asked.

I shook my head. "Never mind. So, what are you guys talking about?"

"Well," Tina began, "We were just talking about the last episode of Dance Moms."

"I love that show!" I was really glad I decided to sit with them. The rest of lunch we just talked and ate and it was the most fun lunch I'd had in a long time. I usually didn't like lunch because I'd just sit there and eat and listen to Quinn, Santana, and the rest talk about how other guys and girls dressed, what they'd done wrong, what party was coming up and other stuff they thought was super important. For awhile I liked it, but lately, it just sounded dumb.

Sitting with my Glee friends, I actually joined the conversation and we never talked about people we went to school with. Sometimes I'd glance up and caught Santana looking at me. I couldn't tell if she was mad, sad, confused or what. I consider myself a Santana Lopez expert-in-training and can read her mood and expression almost all the time. There were times I couldn't tell what she was thinking, like now.

The rest of the day went on as normal and all the popular kids didn't treat me any differently. Even Quinn, Puck and Finn acted like this morning never happened. I guess Santana fixed things. I was getting some things from my locker before meeting Rachel, so she could give me a ride, when Santana leaned against the locker next to mine.

"Ready?" she asked.

I put my Calculus book in my backpack and closed my locker. "Ready for what?"

"Uh, to go home," Santana said, "Or we can go to The Lima Bean for a coffee."

"So you're not mad? About this morning?"

Santana pushed herself away from the locker and stood straight. "I'm not mad at you Britt and don't worry about that. I fixed it."

I adjusted my backpack, now heavier after putting my book in there. "Fixed what?"

"Uh, your outburst? I told everyone that Sue has you undercover infiltrating the nerds and geeks to get some dirt. They totally bought it and your popularity is intact."

She sounded very proud of herself and was even smiling by the time she finished explaining what she did. "That doesn't make any sense," I said.

Her smile disappeared. "Well I had to say something. Look, I don't know what's wrong with you lately, but you need to be careful. We have a year and a half left at this school and we need to stay on top until graduation."

"Why?

Santana did that frustrated and annoyed sigh. "Because we have to, OK? Now come on, let's go."

I started to follow her when I remembered Rachel. "Wait, I already have a ride. Rachel's waiting for me in the choir room."

Santana had been a little ahead of me when she stopped and turned around. She did not look happy at all. "Rachel? Again? Why are you spending so much time with her?"

"She's my…."

She rolled her eyes. "Friend, I know. But ice cream dates, love duets, asking her out? What the hell Britt?"

"Why are you mad that Rachel and I are friends?" The hallway was empty except for us and there was an echo of our voices. It made it sound like we were yelling when we weren't.

"Friends, really? Why are you asking her for a ride when you ride with me? Or are you just hanging out with her hoping she changes her mind about being your girlfriend?"

I had no idea what was happening but Santana was getting mad for no reason. I'm the one who should be mad. "I thought you were going out with Puck after school. You said yes, remember? So I asked Rachel for a ride because I know she won't cancel last minute and because I found out she lives like a block from me."

Santana put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Are you still mad about that? I said I was sorry. You know what? I don't want to interrupt your plan to get under Berry's hobbit skirt."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, I'm going to go find my _boyfriend_ and you can go get in Rachel's Smurf mobile and go home." Santana turned around and stormed off like those characters in the soap operas my mom watches.

"What the hell just happened?" My questions echoed in the hallway.

###

The next day, Santana was still moody but she talked to me. I sat at the popular table at lunch but made sure to say hi to the Glee table. After school, Santana drove me home.

The rest of the week was pretty much the same. Something was going on with her and I wish I knew what it was. She was extra touchy feely with me, in private of course, and while I liked it, I also found it a little weird.

Friday morning, that annoying reporter with the afro and his stupid camera was running around the hallway asking students if they were going to the Carmel party tonight. At the mention of Carmel, I smiled thinking of Eva. She and I had been chatting on Facebook and she was pretty cool. I didn't get a chance to really talk to her at the last party because our tongues were in each other's mouths. She was cool though and if she lived closer, we'd totally be friends.

"Brittany S. Pierce!" Uh, oh. Afro Hair spotted me. What was his name again?

I squinted when the camera light hit my eyes. "Yeah?"

"Will you be attending the Carmel party tonight? Maybe have a romantic reunion with your lady love? Or will you be seeking man love tonight? You always keep us guessing."

"What?" I didn't really hear what he said because I was trying to protect my eyes from that light. I put my hand up to my eyes when the light disappeared.

"Beat it Jewfro!" Santana yelled, pushing him away from me, "Go bother someone else!"

Santana pulled me away and we headed to my locker. "Thanks."

"That guy is the fucking worst," Santana said, "What did he ask you?"

"Something about ladybugs and Barry Manollow, I think."

"That's weird," Santana shrugged, "Anyway, how about we hit up Breadstix and a movie tonight?"

"What about the Carmel party?"

"Shit, that's tonight, isn't it?"

I nodded. "I totally forgot about it too. What time are you guys going to be there?"

Santana looked like I had told her she had to go to the dentist to get all her teeth pulled out. She loved parties so I wasn't sure why she looked like she didn't want to go. "You're driving there with me, right?"

I shrugged. We always got ready for parties at my house but that was before Puck. Now I wasn't sure what the rules were. "You should probably go with Finn and Quinn. You know, have the power couples make and entrance. I'm going to see if anyone from Glee is going."

Santana looked surprised. "We always go to parties together. So you're ditching me for the Glee nerds?"

"No, I…." I didn't finish because Quinn showed up.

"Ladies!" she said with a big smile, "The Carmel party tonight is going to be amazing. The power couples of Carmel will be there so it's important we represent. So, Santana, go home and pick out the hottest dress, then come to my place and we'll get ready. I already texted the boys to come over too." Quinn looked at me. "Britt, you're welcome to come too, of course. Maybe we can find someone for you at that party."

"Maybe." I shrugged. I felt my phone alert me to a text. I opened it up and saw it was Eva asking me if I was going. I smiled and replied.

"Who was that?" Santana narrowed her eyes.

"Just Eva asking if I was going," I said. Santana's whole body tensed up and I saw that vain in her neck again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, and it sounded like she was gritting her teeth.

"Well," Quinn said, "I have to go. Don't be late! The ride to Carmel is like thirty minutes."

When Quinn was gone, I put my phone away and faced Santana. "I wasn't going to ditch you. I know you don't want to break the rules and figured you'd have to show up with Quinn and your boyfriends."

Santana let out a long breath and she suddenly looked so tired. Like she was working three jobs and wasn't getting any sleep. "You're right. It's better if I show up with them."

I nodded. I was sad again because here as another thing that we weren't doing together anymore. "I gotta go. I'll see you later."

"Bye Britt," she said slowly.

I turned and left and hoped that someone from Glee Club was going.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: I'm glad you're liking the story. I appreciate the follows and reviews. :-)**


	5. Label Maker

I decided to just wear black jeans, boots and a white long blouse with a grey vest. I usually wore more color and mixed up my clothes for a unique look, but I did't feel like it today. I still looked hot though, especially with my hair down.

I looked over at Rachel in the driver's seat and was so glad I had convinced her to go. We were on our way to pick up Kurt, Mercedes and Tina. We tried to get Artie to go, but he said he had signed up for some video game tournament he couldn't miss.

"Just so you know," Rachel said as we parked in front of Kurt's house, "I'm not planning on staying too late so I hope you don't mind leaving early. Or finding a ride after."

"It's cool," I said, "I don't feel like partying really. I'll probably go home with you guys."

Kurt came running down his driveway, almost skipping, with a big smile on his face. "Hi girls!" He got in the back seat and put his seatbelt on. "This is so exciting. I've always wanted to go to the Carmel party but since it's invite only, I couldn't get in. Thanks for taking us Brittany."

"Of course!" I turned in my seat and look at him. "That's what friends do."

Rachel put the car in gear and drove off. "Up next, Mercedes."

We picked everyone up and headed to the party. I had called Eva and asked if there was a place Rachel could park her car so it wouldn't get stolen. Eva had said we could park at her house since she lived only four houses down.

When we pulled into her driveway, Eva was standing there, waving at us. I was really glad to see her and know that I had another friend to add to my list.

I got out of the car and Eva hugged me. "Brittany! Finally we get to hang out in person again."

I hugged her back then let her go. "I know! This is great. Thanks for letting us park here."

"My pleasure," she said.

Eva was a lot prettier in person than in her photos. Especially her eyes that were the color of honey. I had never seen eyes like that. She had her dark hair down and was also wearing jeans and a low cut shirt. She was wearing flat boots but she was still my height. She looked really good. I really wished I could remember the last party and what we talked about. I had asked her if she remembered but her memory was just as fuzzy as mine. We both did remember making out though.

Everyone else got out of the car and joined us. "These are my friends Rachel, Kurt, Tina and Mercedes."

After our introductions we started walking to the house. Eva and I walked together, talking. Everyone else was like a ball of energy and super excited about the party.

"You don't have to hang out with me if you don't want to," I told Eva, "This is your turf so you probably want to hang out with your friends."

Eva hooked her arm around mine and laughed. "Honestly, I'd rather hang out with you and your friends. I see the same people everyday and I kinda need a break."

"Tell me about it," I said, thinking of the football players and Cheerios.

"But," Eva went on, "I do have to make the rounds and make sure I'm seen so I don't get shit about it on Monday."

I could hear music now and I knew we were close. The houses were pretty far apart from each other so I figured the neighbors would't complain too much. "Are you one of the popular kids?" I suddenly realized in all our chats we never really talked about stuff like that. Which was really nice.

"I'm not one of the elite, but I'm up there," Eva said.

"Same here."

"Oh my God!" Kurt squealed when we reached the house. It was huge and loud and bright. There were cars parked everywhere and kids were swarming to get in. "I can't believe this is happening!"

We went inside and Eva told me she had to find her friends but that she would catch up with us later. When she was gone, I turned to my friends and saw them all huddled by the wall, looking scared. "What's wrong?"

Tina crossed her arms and looked around the large room packed with people. "I didn't think there would be so many people here."

"Well, yeah," I said, "McKinley, Carmel, Adams and Washington are all here. All the high schools that are close to each other. That's why it's such a huge party."

"Wow," Rachel said, looking around, "I had no idea. This is like the Tony Awards and Oscars of high school parties."

Mercedes reached for my arm and gripped it a little too tight. "Britt, please don't leave us. I know you probably want to hang out with Quinn and Santana but….girl, we are so out of our element here."

At the mention of Santana and Quinn's names, I realized I hadn't thought about them since Rachel picked me up. Now that I remembered them, I quickly looked around the room to see if I could spot them. I didn't. It was still early and Santana loved to be fashionably late. This was the first party that I arrived to without Santana and I was surprised at how it didn't feel weird. I again felt that weird feeling that we were going in different directions and that things weren't the same anymore.

That feeling got even stronger when I realized I'd rather hang out with my new friends than Santana at this party. Especially if she was going to be attached to Puck, Quinn and Finn the whole time. "I won't leave you, OK? But you have to promise me you are not going to hang out by this wall the whole night. It looks creepy."

Rachel stepped forward and nodded. "Deal. Maybe a cold soft drink will help."

I shook my head and took everyone to the kitchen. I was going to try to get them to drink shots to relax.

###

After an hour, I had gotten everyone to take a few shots each and even though, for me, it wasn't much, it was way too much for my Glee friends. They were laughing at everything and even started dancing in the kitchen. It was so great to see them like this since they were usually not happy at school. The kitchen was getting crowded so I took them back out to the main room where it had gotten even more packed.

"Hold hands!" I shouted at everyone, "Let's make a train!"

"CHOO CHOO!" Rachel shouted. She had one hand on my shoulder and one holding her cranberry and vodka. She was drunk and I knew that there was no way she was going to be able to drive the half hour home. I figured I'd drive but I was pretty buzzed and it was still early and I'd probably be drinking more.

"PARTY TRAIN!" This time it was Tina yelling and laughing. I spotted a section of the room that didn't have many people so I took them here. We all got in a circle and started dancing and trying not to spill our drinks. I had spotted some McKinley students here and there and some had tried to get me to go hang out with them, but I said no. I was having a great time with my friends.

Kurt finished his drink and threw the cup across there room. "WOOOOHOOO!"

"Oh my God, Kurt!" I laughed and looked in the direction where he threw the cup and no one had even noticed. Tina, Mercedes and Rachel were cracking up and I would have continued laughing too if I hadn't looked up and seen the super couples of McKinley enter the room. I swear it was like the music got lower and they were walking in slow motion. Almost everyone turned to look at them and I saw Santana hold her head high and smirk. This is what she had been working for since high school started.

Even though I hated that Santana was so caught up in the high school rules, I was also kinda proud of her for some weird reason. I smiled, checking her out. She was gorgeous. She had on a simple short black dress but it fit her like a second skin. Her long hair was down, a little curled and had on a little makeup. I really wanted to go up there and ask her to dance but when I saw Puck put his arm around her shoulders, I stopped smiling and looked away.

"Boo!"

I jumped up a little and spilled some of my drink when someone had shouted in my ear. I turned around and saw Eva. "Hey! There you are."

"Sorry to scare you. But I've done my duty and made my rounds, so I figured I'd hang out with you guys now." She looked at Tina, Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes dancing and laughing and smiled. "You guys are clearly having a better time than I am."

"I sort of gave them some booze," I giggled.

"Good call," Eva said. She stepped closer and put her arms around my neck. "Slow dance with me."

"But the music is fast." I put my hands on her hips and began to sway. I looked over at my friends to see if this bothered them but they weren't even paying attention. When I looked back at Eva she was leaning closer. "Are you drunk?"

"Tipsy," Eva said, "And I thought we could pick up where we left off last time."

I wiggled my eyebrows and leaned in and kissed her. The thing I liked about this party was that it was like Vegas. Whatever happened here, stayed here. There were so many people from different schools, it was hard to keep track of everything. Kissing Eva wasn't the same as kissing Santana but it was still just as nice. It had been a while since I kissed anyone and I missed it a lot. The kiss was getting pretty intense when Eva jumped back and screamed.

"FUCK!"

I opened my eyes and saw Eva arching her back as if someone had hit her. I looked past her and saw Santana with an empty drink in her hand. "What happened?"

"Oops," Santana smiled and shrugged, "Sorry, someone bumped into me and I spilled my drink."

Eva recovered and turned around to Santana. "Were you drinking a Slushi? That was fucking cold!"

"What can I say, I like my beer super cold." Santana had that mean glare she sometimes got when she was trying not to punch someone. She usually got that look with people at school so it was weird that she was looking at Eva like that. Santana didn't even know her. "Brittany," she said, "Who is your friend?"

Before I could answer Rachel appeared next to me, the drink in her hand empty. "Santana! Why are you…hang..with us? You shouldn't be seen with the lower class." Rachel turned to Eva. "That's us."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Don't be dramatic, Berry. The rules are a little different here. Besides, all you losers being drunk just upped your cool points."

I frowned and glared at Santana. When she saw me, she quickly looked away and turned her attention to Eva. "Based on the demon eyes and push up bra, you must be Eva Cruz. "

"Rude, much," Eva said, "I am. Who the hell are you?"

"Santana Lopez," she said, standing a little straighter, "McKinley elite."

"Santana, don't," I warned. I looked around and Santana seemed to be on her own. "I thought you'd be with your friends."

"_We_ are friends," Santana said, "Unless you broke up with me and didn't tell me."

"You know what I mean," I said. We just stared at each other and I got that feeling again like we were in this weird silent fight.

"Wass happening?" Rachel slurred. She had been watching the whole thing and I wondered how much she would remember tomorrow.

"Well, I need to dry out," Eva said, "Brittany? Help me out?"

I saw Santana clench her jaw and open her mouth to probably say an insult but Quinn showed up.

"There you are!" Quinn said. She spotted me and smiled. "Britt! Glad you made it…Oh, and I see you brought the Glee club with you. How….nice."

"Hi Quinn!" Rachel laughed.

I put my hands on Rachel's shoulders and got her to focus on me. "Rachel, listen. I'm going to go with Eva and help her but I'll be back. Stay with Kurt, Tina and Mercedes, OK?"

Rachel nodded. "You gots it!" I turned her around and took her the few steps to our friends who were still dancing and having fun. "I'll be back guys. Don't move from this spot!"

I went beck to Eva, Quinn and Santana. "Sorry, but she's my ride and I need to make sure she doesn't get lost."

"Ride?" Santana shook her head. "She's wasted. You are not getting in a car with her."

"What are you, her mother?" Eva asked and took my hand. "Come on, let's go."

Before I could take a step, Santana grabbed my other hand and pulled me to her. "You're a big girl. I'm sure you can go to the potty all by yourself."

"Stop." I took my hand back from Santana. "Santana, it's fine. I'll be back. Besides, I'm sure you have people to see."

"Brittany's right," Quinn jumped in, "I don't know what is going on here, but Santana, we need to go find the guys and make the rounds. Let's go."

Santana hesitated a little and looked between me and Eva but after Quinn nudged her, she left.

In the bathroom, Eva took off her shirt and rinsed it out over the sink. "Your friend was lovely," Eva said but sounded really sarcastic.

I sat on the toilet seat lid and looked up at Eva and her, well, chest. It was hard not to stare. I mean there she was shirtless and her boobs almost spilling out of her bra. "Uh huh," was all I managed to say.

Eva looked down at me and smirked. "Didn't mean to give you a sneak peek so soon."

I looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry," I laughed softly, "It's kinda hard not to look."

"I don't mind." Eva put her hand under my chin and made me look up. "Look all you want."

So I did. I stood up and she trapped me between her and the sink. Then, she took off her bra and I looked some more. She leaned in and kissed me, taking my hand and placing it on her breast.

I was lost in a haze of kisses and boobs and didn't realize she had taken off my shirt and bra too while we were making out. It was like magic because I don't even remember her doing that. Our chests were pressed against each other and it felt so good.

Eva started squeezing my right boob, so I did the same for her. We were getting pretty intense after a while and I was getting really worked up. It would be so easy to have sex with her right here but I didn't want to do that in some stranger's bathroom. If I was going to have lady sex with Eva, I wanted it to be more special than this. I mean, not cheesy special with roses and stuff but at least a room where people didn't pee and poop.

I kissed her some more and I started to wonder about what I was. I pulled back and asked her something that I've been thinking a lot about lately. "Do you think I'm a lesbian?"

Eva giggled and kissed my cheek. "Shouldn't you know that?"

"That's the problem, I don't know. Like, Santana says I'm not but here I am making out with you, half naked and squeezing your boobs and really, really liking it. But, at the same time, I made out with this guy a couple of weeks ago and really liked that too. So I don't know. Do you know what you are?"

"I think so." Eva reached for her bra and shirt and put it back on. "I'm here making out with you but last week I was making out with Jason Watson. Both enjoyable sessions. Though, you're way better."

I smiled and thanked her while getting dressed. "So what does that mean?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm Bi, but who knows," Eva said shrugging her shoulders, "Maybe I'm not and I'm just exploring. Besides, we're teenagers! We're not supposed to know everything yet."

I nodded, slowing feeling a little better about everything. "I don't know anything."

"No one does, Brittany." Eva looked in the mirror and made sure she looked good. "Don't let your friend tell you what you are or what you aren't. If you like boys and girls, then you're Bisexual. Or if you just like girls, then be a lesbian. Or, shit, fuck labels. Be with who you want and do what you want and don't try to label it."

I suddenly felt like I had stepped out of the sauna and could breath again. What Eva just said was exactly what I needed to hear. "I like that last part. It doesn't feel so stuffy to breath anymore."

"I don't know what that means, but I'm glad I could help." She kissed me again and we ended up really getting into it again. She really was a great kisser. When we pulled back, she took my hand and led me to the door. "Come on, let's go back and hope your friends haven't passed out."

"Oh shit!" I had been totally enjoying my lady kisses I had forgotten about everyone. Eva opened the door and right there, was Santana and Puck.

"You guys were in there a long time," Santana said, almost growling, "What were you doing?"

Puck clapped his hand and laughed. "Well done Pierce!"

"We were discussing world events," Eva said with a big smile, "Bathroom is all yours."

Santana kept looking at me, her eyes were so narrow that I wasn't sure if she could still see me. She was making fists with her hands and clenching her jaw and I worried that if she kept doing that she'd have to wear one of those mouth guards. "You should go to the dentist," I told her.

"What?" Santana looked really confused.

"Nothing," I said, "Hey, did you see Rachel and everyone else? Are they OK?"

"I'm not their babysitter," Santana said, "How the hell should I know?"

I groaned and grabbed Eva's hand. "Come on."

I didn't look back at Santana or let my self think of what she and Puck were going to do in that bathroom. When we got back to the main room, no one was where I had left them. "Shit."

"We'll find them," Eva said.

We found Kurt in the kitchen, standing on the table and giving fashion advice to some of the girls. Rachel was out in the yard acting out some play. Mercedes was by the DJ trying to take over the music. Finally, we found Tina passed out in a nook under the stairs. Eva helped me gather everyone and get them out the door to the front yard. We had to carry Tina between us. "Let's go home guys."

"BEST PARTY EVER!" Kurt yelled.

Before we started walking, I spotted Santana by the door. I smiled at her and waved with my free hand. I thought she would go back in the house but she jogged to us.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Tina passed out," I said, "We're leaving."

Santana looked at Rachel who was twirling and singing. "She's too drunk to drive."

"I know," I said, "I'll drive us home once I stop feeling buzzed."

"You all can hangout at my house," Eva offered.

Santana rolled her eyes. "How nice of you," she said but I knew she didn't mean that in a nice way.

"Tina's heavy," I said. I wanted to leave before Santana and Eva got in a fight. I did not need that right now. "I'll see later, OK?"

"Britt…." Santana sighed and I felt like she wanted to say more, but she looked over at Eva, so she didn't. "Never mind. I'll call you tomorrow."

"OK."

Eva and I got everyone to her house and inside without any major drama. We all went to the living room and collapsed on the two big couches. "We're going to wake your parents."

"They're out of town," Eva said, "So you guys can stay the night. I'll go get blankets and pillows for everyone. I have extra clothes too."

"Thanks Eva."

When she was gone, I took everyone's phones and texted their parents that they were staying over each other's houses so they wouldn't worry. By the time Eva came back, everyone was practically asleep on the couches.

"Wake up and put these on," I told everyone through my yawn.

Mercedes responded with "Hmmph"

Twenty minutes later, everyone was dressed. Including Tina who hadn't woken up even a little when we were changing her.

"Thanks Eva, you're super nice for this," I said.

"No problem," she said, "I'm going up to my room. Do you want to come with me? Just to sleep, I promise."

My heart started beating really fast and I got a tingle in my stomach. I had never slept in the same bed with anyone but Santana. If I went with Eva, it would almost feel like cheating. That was dumb though because Santana and I weren't even together. "Umm, it's OK. I'll stay down here in case they need something. Like a bucket."

Eva laughed softly and gave me a kiss. "I'll see you in the morning."

When she was gone, I laid on the floor on the bed of blankets I had made and tried to go to sleep. Tonight went a lot better than I thought. One good thing that happened was that I found out I didn't have to label myself as anything. That was totally worth going to this party. I was almost asleep when Rachel started singing.

"Shut up Rachel!" Kurt shouted and everything was quiet again.

###

The next morning, everyone except me woke up with a hangover. I found out that if I ate a big dinner before a party, I could drink and not get sick the next day. I probably should have told everyone that since I'm sure this was the first time they had drank any alcohol.

Eva had made us all breakfast and after, everyone felt a little better.

"I'm never drinking again," Rachel groaned.

"Ah, the good old empty promise," Eva laughed, "You'll be fine Rachel and I bet you'll be drinking again in no time."

"No way!" Rachel said.

"I feel like throwing up but also hungry," Tina moaned, "I just wanna go back to sleep."

"You slept for like 10 hours," I said, "You'll all be fine by dinner time."

"How the hell are you not sick, Brittany?" Mercedes asked. She was hunched over her plate of eggs and bacon, slowly chewing.

I shrugged my shoulders. "This isn't my first Rodeo Drive."

Rachel drank the last of her water and tried to compose herself. Her hair was all over the place and she had really dark circles under her eyes. I was glad none of the popular kids were here to see the Glee kids looking like hot messes because they'd bully them forever.

"Eva," Rachel said, "Thank you for your hospitality. It's greatly appreciated. And, while you're a great host, I believe it's time for us to get going. It's almost noon and we need to get home before our parents send out an Amber Alert."

Eva grinned and it made her look very pretty. She looked like she hadn't been partying the night before and had gotten all her beauty sleep. "You're welcome Rachel," she said, "And you all are fun people and I hope we can hang out again. Are you guys cheerleaders?"

Kurt almost choked on his water. "God no. We're on the bottom of the social ladder. Glee Club."

Eva looked surprised and I waited for her to tease them or even kick them out. But she didn't.

"Cool," Eva said, "I wish I could sing but I sound like a crying cat."

"Vocal Adrenaline is our toughest competition," Rachel said, "You should come out next time we compete against them."

"That would be fun," Eva said, "I'd totally cheer for you guys. Vocal Adrenaline are a bunch of dicks."

"They sure are," Mercedes said. She finished up the last of her food and got up. "Thanks Eva. But Rachel's right, we should all go. I really need my bed right now."

I was a little disappointed we were leaving already, but I did need to get home. It took us another hour before we were out the door. Everyone thanked Eva again and headed to the car but I stayed behind for just a bit longer.

"It sucks we live so far away," I said. We were standing by the stairs and she was holding my hand.

"It's not that far," Eva said, "But considering both of us is without an automobile at the moment, that makes it pretty hard to hang out." I was surprised by that news since the neighborhood was pretty fancy and all the houses were pretty big. "I know, rich girl without a car is weird. My parents are firm believers in not spoiling their kids. If I want a car, I have to save up."

"Sounds like may parents," I said. I squeezed her hand and swung it back and forth a little. "So we're friends right? This isn't going to be, like, weird is it?"

Eva smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, I don't have any weird ideas that we're going out or anything. It is what it is. Let's call ourselves…umm, friends-who-make-out-at-parties."

"Awesome!" I heard Rachel honk the horn and knew it was time to leave. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later. And thanks for clearing up the whole labels thing." I leaned in and kissed her one more time before heading out to the car.

It wasn't until we were halfway home that I remembered to check my phone. I had three voicemails and seven texts from Santana.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the support. I haven't decided if I'm going to add the other parts to this story and just make a long one or split them into three different ones. Any preference? **


	6. Shake Up

All of Santana's texts and messages were the same. Asking where I was and if I made it home OK.

I tried calling Santana back once I got home, but she didn't pick up. Either her phone had died or she was ignoring me because I had accidentally ignored her earlier. On Sunday, I tried again and all I got was a _"Busy right now. I'll see you at school"_ text around 5 pm. Yeah, she was probably ignoring me on purpose. Whatever. I was getting tired of her weird mind games so I just shrugged it off and called Eva.

Eva and I ended up chatting and talking all weekend and it just made me wish she came to McKinley or one of us had a car. I loved how carefree she was about everything and after months of disappointment with Santana, it was exactly what I needed.

When Monday came, I didn't think Santana would pick me up for school but the doorbell rang early morning and she was standing there with a big smile. "Good morning Britt," she said.

I wasn't sure what to think. I really thought she'd be mad at me or in a bad mood, but here she was, smiling and looking happy. "Are you drunk?"

Her smile turned into a short laugh. "What? No. Britt, it's like seven in the morning."

"Why do you look so happy then?"

She playfully rolled her eyes and stuffed her hands in her Cheerio's jacket. "Come on, let's get out of here. This is going to be a good week."

"Are you high, then?" It was unusual for Santana to just be happy. Nope, something happened.

She laughed again and motioned for me to go with her to the car. Once we were on the road, she still had a small smile on her face. "OK, you're creeping me out. Why are you so happy? I thought you were mad at me for not texting you back. I didn't mean to, you know. I just forgot to check my phone Saturday."

Her smile disappeared and she let out a sigh. "I figured. I didn't mean to ignore your messages after. My phone died again…I really need get a new phone. Anyway, I did something and….it's either going to backfire or make things better."

"What did you do?" She made a right turn and the school came into view.

"I…let me see what the aftermath of this is before I tell you," she said.

"Is this about the party? Did you and Quinn kill someone?"

Santana parked the car and turned off the engine. She turned to face me and shook her head. "Nothing that serious." She unbuckled her seatbelt and looked down at her hands. "Speaking of the party….what time did you get home?"

She looked up and had this worried expression and I felt bad for making her worry. "We made it home safe and sound. The next day."

"So, uh, you did stay over that girl's house? Ellen?"

"Eva," I corrected. I unbuckled by seatbelt and grabbed my bag. "We were too drunk to drive so Eva let us stay at her place. That place is huge!"

"Hmmm…so what, is she your girlfriend now?"

I waited for her to get that annoyed or angry, but it didn't. She had no expression and it was another of those times I couldn't tell what she was thinking. "No. We're friends. I did find out that I'm not a lesbian though. So I guess you were right about that."

"What?" Santana's eyes went wide. "What do you mean? What happened? So you didn't make out with her?"

"I'll tell you later." I got out of the car and closed the door before she could ask me anymore questions. I had some questions I wanted to ask her too but I wanted to wait until after school.

Santana caught up with me once we reached the front entrance. "Brittany! What happened at the party?" She must have jogged to me because she sounded a bit out of breath.

I really didn't want to talk about this at school and I knew just what to say to make her stop. "Do you really want to talk about lesbians while we walk to our lockers?" She quickly looked around us to make sure no one was around and heard what I said. She shook her head and I opened the door and went inside.

As soon as I did, that Afro reporter guy, whose name I still didn't know, shoved his camera in my face.

"Brittany S. Pierce! What are your thoughts on McKinley's latest scandal? Do you think it will change the dynamic of the upper class?"

"What?" I could never understand what this guy was saying. He talked too fast and asked too many questions. This school needed a better reporter. "What are you talking about?"

He took the camera out of my face and immediately focused on Santana.

"Santana Lopez!" he shouted, "You made a bold move in shaking up the McKinley elite! Are you not concerned about how your breaking up with Noah Puckerman will upset the balance?"

I froze. Really. I had heard about people not being able to move all of a sudden and that was happening to me right now. I must have heard wrong. Santana broke up with Puck? The news almost made me smile but I didn't want to get too happy in case it was a mistake.

"No comment," Santana said and walked away with her head held high. She came to me and grabbed my elbow, taking me away from Afro hair reporter guy. We stopped at her locker and she opened it and took out some books.

"What was that?" I asked.

"That was the thing I did," Santana said softly, "So far, so good. I think it's time I start making some new rules around here."

"You really broke up with him?" I felt my lips twitch, wanting to smile. Did this mean she missed me and wanted to spend more time with me? Is that why she broke up with him? No. Nope, I wasn't going to get my hopes up. There had to be another reason that wasn't about me. There always was.

Santana smiled and nodded. "You saw how people reacted to me at the party, and if you had stuck around you would have seen how I was top bitch at that thing. Me. Without Puck." She shrugged her shoulders. "So, I don't need him anymore. Quinn's going to be pissed, but I know what I'm doing."

And there it was. It was all about her popularity. "Oh. Well, that's great." I looked at the clock on my phone. "I have to get to class." I turned to leave but she caught my arm.

"Wait," she said, "Let's go back to your place after school, OK? I want to finish our conversation about….what you said in the car."

I nodded and turned to leave. This was going to be an interesting day.

###

I sat on my bed looking through my celebrity magazines and trying to figure out how the photographers always knew when celebrities went out for coffee. They were always there, no matter how random of a location. I wondered if I could be a celebrity photographer. I loved taking pictures and had, like, five photography books and was saving up to buy another one.

I closed the magazine and looked at my kitty clock on the wall. Santana was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago. She was supposed to give me a ride home but said that Quinn was super mad about what she did and wanted to talk. I had just shrugged my shoulders and asked Rachel for a ride. I could always count on Rachel.

I took out my phone and texted Santana that I could only wait for another 15 minutes then I'd have to leave. I didn't have anywhere to go but I wasn't going to just wait here all night like other times. I had promised myself that I wouldn't just keep waiting for her anymore.

I put my magazines away and changed out of my Cheerio's uniform into lose jeans and a shirt with a giraffe. I checked my phone and there was still nothing from Santana. I went downstairs and asked my mom if we could all go out to dinner tonight so that I totally didn't lie to my best friend.

As my parents, sister and I were leaving, Santana arrived. "Oh! Sorry…where are you all heading out to?" she asked.

My sister, Andrea, or Andi as we called her, started to jump up and down at seeing Santana. Andi loved Santana. "Hi Santana! We're going to dinner!"

Santana smiled at my 12 year old sister and winked. "Awesome."

"Santana," my mom said, "Brittany didn't say you were coming over."

Santana smiled and looked at me with her "I'm sorry" expression that I know so well. "I'm…I'm late. Britt, I'll just call you later."

Before I could say anything my mom spoke again. "Nonsense. Come to dinner with us. Unless you have plans with your mom?"

She looked at me as if asking if it was OK and I nodded. "I'd love to go. My mom is working late today and I was just going to order a pizza."

"That's settled then," my mom said.

So, we all headed off to dinner and actually had a good time. My family loved Santana and she loved them. Sometimes Santana's mom would hang out with my parents and some of their other friends. I think Santana loved to hang out with my family because it was just her and her mom. Santana's dad had died six years ago and the rest of her family lived in Chicago. Santana told me that her mom had thought about moving to Chicago but didn't want to add extra stress to Santana's life. I'm glad they didn't move.

After dinner, we went back to my house and Santana and I went to my room.

"Can I borrow some sweats or something?" she asked me, "I need to take this damn uniform off. It was bad enough I had to wear it at dinner. I just don't get why Sue makes us wear it all day at school. Even on days we don't have practice!"

I went to my drawer and took out some black sweats and a Star Trek sweater. "Here, put these on."

"I can't believe you have this sweater," she laughed, "If anyone saw me wearing this…"

"Whatever Santana. I know you love that show and that you're a big nerd," I teased.

Santana rolled her eyes and started undressing. I looked for a bit but then looked away. I wanted to see her naked, but I wasn't sure if it was OK anymore. I was glad when she was totally changed and sitting on my bed.

"Dinner was fun," she said. I just nodded. "I'm sorry I was late. Quinn wouldn't stop talking."

"What did she say?"

"That I made a big mistake breaking up with Puck," Santana sighed, "She's wrong. You saw what happened today at school, I was even more popular. Let's be real here, the girls are the ones that run the school and the boys are just accessories. I told her she should dump Finn, I mean she doesn't even like him."

"Did you like Puck?" I asked. Puck was an OK guy and I always got the feeling he was a jerk just for show. Kurt had mentioned how Puck hand thrown him into the garbage cans and the next day Puck had given him a $50 gift card to the GAP so he could buy new clothes. I really didn't understand popularity.

I looked at Santana and she looked like I had asked her the world's hardest test question. "Umm," she shrugged, "Sure. I mean, he treated me well and we had fun…but…"

"But what?"

She sighed really loud. "I don't know, something felt off."

I bit my lip and and nodded. I wasn't sure what to think right now. This was the most Santana had talked about her relationship with Puck. When I would try to ask her things, she'd get mad and just not talk. "Off? Like with sex? Was he not good?"

That question caught Santana by surprise and she suddenly got really fidgety and couldn't look at me. "It was….whatever." She slid up my bed and rested her back on the headboard. "Besides we didn't even do it that much."

"You didn't? I thought you guys were like, you know, doing it all the time. Isn't that why we stopped practicing? And why you wouldn't hang out with me as much?"

Santana crossed her arms and looked away. "I tried to….you know what? Forget it." She turned back to me and gave me a small smile. "Enough about me. Let's talk about you and that Eilen chick."

"Eva," I said. I scooted up and sat next to Santana. I really wanted to ask her more about her relationship with Puck now that I found out that they weren't sleeping together as much as I thought. "I know you know her name."

"Fine. Eva," Santana said, in an annoyed tone. "So you didn't make out with her?"

"Oh, I totally did." I smiled at the memory and wondered what she was up to right now.

"Hmmph," Santana huffed, "I thought you said you weren't a lesbian."

"I'm not," I said, sounding really confident. "Eva and I had a talk and she gave me some great advice."

"Did she now? Are you sure she's not a psycho?"

"She's nice," I said.

Santana stayed quiet for a few moments before talking again. "So you're finally going to give up this lesbian stuff?"

"I'm just going to go with the flow," I said, "No labels. I'm not anything, just Brittany."

"So…if we, I don't know, started practicing again, you wouldn't get all weird about it?"

I turned to look at her and she was looking down an there folded hands. She always played with her hands when she was anxious or nervous about something. "What do you mean, weird?"

She looked up but still not at me. "I mean, no suggesting love songs or finding girlfriends or anything. That kind of weird. Since you're not a lesbian we can go back to practicing and not make it a big deal."

But it was a big deal, at least to me. I really loved being with her and the last time we were together, where she looked at me, was amazing. I mean before she walked out. I knew I wasn't a lesbian but I wondered if Santana was. "Are you a lesbian?"

She quickly answered, "No! That's ridiculous!"

"Are you like me? Or you don't know?"

"What do you mean, like you?" Before I could answer, she let out an annoyed groan and kept talking. "Can we please stop talking about what we are? It's dumb. I'm straight and one day I'll marry an NFL player and live in a mansion and have lots of money. Until then, I don't see why I can't mess around. I need to get good at sex so I can keep my NFL husband happy."

As I listened to Santana talk, my stomach felt like there was a tornado in there. I don't know if it was the food or hearing Santana talk about her future husband that made me feel like throwing up. I scrunched up my nose and put my hand on my stomach.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I….I think dinner made me sick," I said, "I don't feel so good. Maybe you should go home."

"Are you kicking me out?"

I shook my head and scooted down the bed to lay down. "No. I just…I think I just need to lie down." I turned away from her and hugged one of my pillows. I knew I wasn't the smartest but I knew what Santana was saying. She wanted to use me for sex so she could please her future husband. "I'm just going to go to sleep."

"But it's 7:30," she said. I felt her get out of bed. "I'll go get you some Pepto or something."

"No." I turned to face her and saw that she was almost to the bathroom door. "I just need to lie down and go to sleep."

Her shoulders seemed to slump a little. "I can rub your stomach, that always works." She started walking back to me but I told her to stop. "What?" she asked.

"I just need to sleep," I told her, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

I almost told her to stay when I saw her disappointed look. But I didn't. If she stayed, she'd want to practice and knew I couldn't say no to her. So, she had to leave.

"Uh, OK," she said softly. She picked up her clothes and stuffed them in her backpack. "I guess…I'll see you tomorrow when I pick you up for school."

I nodded and tried to give her a smile. She looked like she didn't want to leave and hesitated but in the end, she left. I turned back to my pillow and tried to sleep but instead just stared out my window.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: Big leaps for Brittany but baby steps for Santana. **


	7. The Stand

Santana was right. She didn't need Puck and was even more popular and powerful without him. She had even passed Quinn as top bitch at school and that made Santana really happy. It had been almost two months since the break up and things were going just as Santana had predicted.

Quinn had dumped Finn two weeks ago and she was still popular but not as much as Santana. I just stayed in the background and watched because I didn't care about being popular or any of its dumb rules. I continued to go out with my Glee friends even though Santana was not happy about that. She had been upset that I went out with them every Friday night, instead of her, but I did invite her to come with me every Friday, but each time she said no. Going out with the Glee club was always so much fun and I had gotten a lot closer to all of them. Especially to Rachel, which was surprising.

Santana and I had been back to normal, minus the sexy times and sweet lady kisses. I missed that. A lot. After that night in my bedroom we hadn't talked about "practicing" again. I don't know what happened but we just got into being just best friends, which was awesome, but sometimes I got the urge to kiss Santana and I knew I'd slip soon.

Eva and I continued to chat online and call each other, and she had even joined me and the Glee Club for a couple of our Friday group dates. She did tell me she got a job and she might have a car this summer and she would come pick me up to hang out more often. We made out a few times but not as intense like at the party, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

Mike continued to flirt with me and I was super surprised he hadn't asked me out yet. I had sort of given up my plan to ask him out, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of having a boyfriend or girlfriend. Someone to go out on dates and be like the couples in all those teen movies. If Eva didn't go to Carmel, I'm sure we'd be dating. Here at McKinley, I liked Mike a lot and I knew that he would be an awesome boyfriend but I hadn't asked him. I was just waiting for something, but I wasn't sure what.

We only had a week before the semester was over before everyone would go on Christmas break. I loved Christmas and couldn't wait for it to get here. I was in my room browsing through Amazon and buying gifts. I had just finished buying my sister her gift and was going to buy Santana's, when Santana came in to my room.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised. Some of the squad and football players had gone to Breadstix after school and Santana said she needed to make an appearance. I didn't expect to see her today.

She laughed and came in, dropping her gym bag on the floor. "What happened to the days when you were glad to see me." She closed my door and sat on the bed, near my feet.

I closed my laptop and set it aside. "I am always glad to see you but I thought you were going to spend the night at Breadstix."

Santana reached for my laptop but I shoved it away. "Were you looking at porn?" Santana teased.

"No, I was Christmas shopping."

"My present?" Santana got up and came to sit next to me, with her back to the headboard.

"Nope." I smiled and looked away because I knew she would be able to tell I was lying.

"Liar." Busted. "Breadstix was boring without you there so I came to hang out."

That news made me smile really big. "Really?"

"Uh huh, and…"

"And what?" I asked.

"I was thinking." She took my hand, palm up, and started running her fingers across it making me feel all tingly.

"Uh, what?" I looked at her, but she was looking at our hands.

"Well, I really missed you and now that I'm making the rules, I don't have to be away from you that much anymore."

The tingly feeling was getting really distracting and I wasn't sure what Santana was talking about but just hearing her say she missed me made me feel all warm inside.

Since she had broken off with Puck she hadn't ditched me. She was always there when I needed her and she hadn't gotten mad at me once. Post-breakup Santana was great and it just made it that much harder to not want to kiss her.

She continued caressing my hand and looked at me. She had the sweetest smile on her face and I swear it was like I drank five beers and had a buzz going on.

I was Santana-drunk.

"I miss you in other ways too," she said softly, looking into my eyes, "Do you know what I mean?"

She was looking at me! Maybe I really did drink five beers and was drunk and was dreaming the whole thing. Then I suddenly got what she was saying. "Oh. Uh, you wanna practice?"

Santana smiled and leaned in and kissed me. It was a really soft kiss and I hadn't realized _just_ how much I missed kissing her until right now. She leaned back and she was still smiling. "Let's not call it practice anymore." she said.

I couldn't talk so I just nodded. I probably shouldn't have said yes, but I missed being with her and now with Puck out of the way, I wouldn't have to share her. My brain was telling me to stop this, that it was a bad idea. But my body and my heart were telling my brain to shut up and go for it. This was such a bad idea.

Maybe if we started doing this again I could help Santana figure out if she was a lesbian. In the last two months, I had figured out Santana was not straight. At all. No matter how many times she would say she was.

Santana got up and went to lock my door. "Just in case." She had the biggest smile on her face. She turned off the lights and started undressing. It was already dark out and the moon wasn't as bright so I couldn't see her as clearly. I wanted to tell her to keep the light on, like last time, but I didn't want to make her mad.

I started to take off my clothes too and soon we were both in our underwear and bra. She walked over and climbed on top of me. Feeling her warm skin against mine again was like a dream. She kissed me again, but this time it wasn't a small soft kiss. This time it was way more intense and she shoved her tongue in my mouth. "Mmmm."

As soon as she kissed me, my brain gave up trying to make me stop.

I don't know if it was because we hadn't done this in months or because it was super dark, but Santana was way more passionate than ever before. I had no trouble keeping up and had her totally naked in no time. I flipped us over and moved to kiss her neck, then down to her right nipple.

"God, I missed you boobs," I moaned. I really wished I could see her better but I was glad that the darkness was giving her more confidence.

She reached behind me and unhooked my bra, took it off and cupped both of my boobs. "I missed yours too," she said really softly, but I heard her.

I moved down her body until I got between her legs. I had wanted to taste her again since the last time and had had so many dreams and fantasies about doing this over and over. I just wished I could see her better.

"Britt…" Santana almost sounded like she was in pain.

"Do, do you not want me to?"

She opened her legs wider and I took that as a yes. I wanted to slowly lean in and tease her and do all that romantic stuff, but I ended up diving right in and taking as much of her in my mouth as I could. She was just as delicious as I remembered.

"FUCK!" Santana's hands went to my head but she didn't push me down, she just keep them there. I heard her breathing really hard as I licked and sucked, and drank her. Santana was so warm, so wet and I wanted more. I dipped my tongue inside her and made her moan really loud. "Britt…umm…that's….good…"

I had watched a lot of videos on how to do this just right and judging by Santana's moans and how she was, like, thrashing on the bed, I was doing it right. If my mouth hadn't been full of Santana's vagina, I would have smiled. Maybe I should call it pussy. I would have to ask Santana what she preferred. I started sucking on her clit and inserted two fingers in and out of her, fast. That drove her crazy and she came soon after.

I took my fingers out but kept licking her because I couldn't get enough. I kept doing it until I was sure she had recovered. "Was that OK?" I asked as I sat up, still between her legs. She started laughing and I pouted. "I've only done this twice, OK? You don't have to laugh at me."

I started to get out of bed when I felt Santana pull me down to the bed, with her on top of me. I was so surprised that I squealed like a chipmunk. She then kissed me and I wasn't so mad anymore.

"I'm not laughing at you," she said, "I'm laughing because of your question. By the sounds I was making and the way I was moving, it's pretty obvious it was more than OK."

I giggled, realizing how silly I was to get upset so fast. She was hovering right above me and again I wished the moon's flashlight was brighter because I couldn't really see her eyes. "Can I ask you something? And please don't get mad. I know you don't like it when I talk."

I felt Santana's body tense and she wasn't smiling anymore. "I..it's not…, you can talk anytime you want."

That wasn't true, but I did't tell her that. "Umm…speaking of noises, you're usually really quiet. But the last two times, you, uh, you haven't been."

"You don't like that?" she asked and I could tell by her voice she was worried about my answer.

"I like it!" I assured her, but I could feel like she was pulling away from me. "A lot. I like hearing you. It's just, am I just better now?" I knew if I changed the focus to me, she would relax more. And she did.

"You've improved," she said and I could hear her smile return, "Practice makes perfect, right?"

"Right." I didn't get the answer I wanted but I wasn't going to push her anymore right now. I didn't want her to leave.

"Now," she said, "How about I get my turn and you tell me how much I've improved since last time."

Before I could say anything, Santana had slid down my body and her mouth found my vagina. No, pussy. I liked that better.

###

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Sue had us practicing routines everyday until the semester ended. She would have kept us practicing during our break but the school said it was against the law or something. When we weren't too tired, Santana and I did more private practicing of our own.

The more we were together, the more comfortable Santana got. I was so happy and hoped that she would open up more in the future. She was looking at me more, talking more and she hadn't gotten mad or left once. I was glad I had let my body and heart win over my brain. Though, I had to prepare myself for this to go wrong again and my brain chanting, _"I told you so"_ in my head all day.

I was being careful but there was definitely a change.

Since I started sleeping with Santana again, I stopped making out with Eva. Sort of. I mean, we sometimes still kissed but not as much as before. I still really like her and with Santana still being…Santana, I wasn't sure if we were official or what. I doubted we were. Aside from the sometimes kisses, Eva and I were still friends and I liked spending time with her.

But back to Santana… I also realized that Santana wasn't like me. She didn't like boys the way I did, which made the whole Puck thing super confusing. Santana didn't talk about guys or say that a guy was hot. She didn't check out any of the guys on the football team, and believe me, some of them had amazing bodies. Instead, I'd catch her checking out some of the Cheerios at practice.

One time, we were looking at a magazine and I caught Santana's eyes lingering on a hot female model's ass. I mean, it was an amazing ass and girls check out other girls' bodies all the time but the way Santana was looking was not PG. Fifteen minutes after reading that magazine, we had sexy times. Plus there was the fact that she totally loved going down on me. I'm sure she'd have her head between my legs all day if she could. So yeah, I was positive Santana was a lesbian. I just wish she'd know that too.

For Christmas and New Year's, Santana and her mom went to Chicago to spend time with their family, including Santana's grandmother who she was excited to see. Santana would never admit it, but family was super important to her. She loved going to Chicago to see her aunts, uncles and cousins. I was glad she loved going, because I sure didn't. I wanted celebrate Christmas with my best friend on actual Christmas and not the day before she left.

This year it was my parents' turn to have family for the holidays so I didn't go anywhere. Instead I had to share my room with two of my cousins while other family members slept somewhere around the house. I loved Christmas, but I didn't love it as much when it was this crazy.

When Christmas was over, I thought I would have Santana back. I didn't. She and her mom had decide to stay in Chicago until four days before the semester started. We texted, Skyped and called each other everyday, but it wasn't the same.

"I miss you," I said to my computer where the image of Santana was smiling at me.

"I miss you too Britt-Britt," she said, "Don't worry though, I'll be home in just three days."

"I can't wait. Are you excited to come home?"

"I'm excited to hang out with you again," she said, "Honestly, you're the only reason I want to go back, otherwise, I'd stay here."

"You really love it there, huh?" I knew she really liked Chicago but hearing her say that if it wasn't for me, she'd stay there, made me a little sad.

She smiled really big and nodded. "It's great here. The city is amazing, Britt. There are so many different people living here. It's like New York or Los Angeles, but not as crowded or flashy. You can be who you want and no one cares. Life here goes by at a much faster pace than Lima. It's like Lima is a snail and Chicago is a, a…"

"Cat?"

"Yeah, Britt," she laughed, "Like a big cat that runs fast. You should come with me next time."

"Really?" The idea of being in a big city with Santana sounded perfect. She really did seem a lot happier there and there was nothing I loved more than a happy Santana. "That'd be awesome." I heard Santana's mom call out to her. "You have to go?"

"Yeah," she said, and she looked disappointed, "My abuela is taking us to see the giant jelly bean."

"There's a giant jelly bean? What flavor is it?"

"Not that kind, Britt," Santana said, "I'll take you there when you come here, OK?"

"Deal." Santana's mom called her again. "You should go. Send me a picture of the jelly bean."

"I will."

We hung up and I already missed her.

###

The night Santana came back, I slept over and we made up for weeks of not being together. I had learned that every time we went more than a week without having sex, Santana got super passionate when we did it again.

A few days later, we started the second half of our Junior year and everyone was talking about college already. I still had no idea what I wanted to do or even if I wanted to go to college. Even Eva had schools already picked out in New York and California.

"Both those states are awesome," Eva said.

We were having lunch at a pizza place that was halfway between Mckinley and Carmel. We always tried to meet up once or twice a week, sometimes with some of the Glee club and sometimes by ourselves.

"I don't even know if I can get in," I said. I tore a small piece of my pizza and ate it. "I wasn't even thinking about college."

"Do you want to go?"

I just shrugged my shoulders. "I don't even know what I want to study. What do you want to do?"

"No clue," Eva laughed, "But the parents insist I go to college or they stop giving me money. So I'm just going to go and see what sparks my interest. Maybe you should do that too."

"I guess I could do that. If I can get in."

Eva reached for my hand and squeezed it. "You'll get in," she said with a smile, "How about I send you the names of the schools I'm applying and you can apply to those to start. I'd love it if we got to go to the same school this time so we can see each other more."

I felt myself blush. Eva always made me feel a little shy sometimes. "That'd be awesome."

She winked at me and we finished our lunch.

###

I was sitting alone in the choir room just thinking about college again when Rachel came in.

"Brittany?"

"Huh?"

"What are you doing in here by yourself?" Rachel asked. She came to sit next to me and patted my knee. "Did you take too much cold medicine again?"

I shook my head. "I wish. I was just thinking about college." Even though Eva had made me feel a little better about college, I suddenly felt overwhelmed.

Rachel's face lit up. "Fantastic! I'm happy to hear that. I'm not going to lie Brittany, I really didn't think college was even in your thought process."

"I'm processing it. It just hit me that we start Senior year this fall. Then next Spring we graduate. It's scary and I don't know what I want to do. Eva said I can just go and decide later."

"Don't worry, Brittany," Rachel said, "Eva is right. You can be undecided for the first couple of semesters. What schools have you applied to?"

I panicked. "What? We're supposed to apply already?" I had no idea what to do about any of this college stuff. "I only got school names from Eva yesterday! Oh God, I'm going to mess this up."

"No, you're not." Rachel took my hand and gave it a squeeze. "There's still plenty of time. I'll help you, OK? What are the schools Eva mentioned?"

"What about my grades?" I asked, ignoring her question, "Don't you need like straight A's to get into college?"

"Don't worry about that," Rachel said, "I know you're doing very well in math, science and history. Especially math."

"Numbers are easy," I shrugged, "And science and history is just about remembering facts, really. It's English and writing that I can't do. It's so confusing."

"Well, that's a problem," Rachel said, "Since you do have to write an essay for your applications."

I groaned. "I'll never get in anywhere."

"I promise you Brittany," Rachel said, "You will get in somewhere because I'm going to help you."

I smiled and squeezed Rachel's hand, grateful I had such a great friend. "Thanks Rachel."

"Of course. Now, first thing's first. Do you want to go to college here in Ohio or out of state? I, myself, am planing on applying to some New York schools to start."

I didn't need to think too hard about my first choice. "I'd like to try Chicago."

"Excellent choice," Rachel said, "We'll start there."

Later that day, I asked Santana if she was thinking of going to college in Chicago. She told me that when she was there, she looked at some schools and had a good idea of where she wanted to go. I just smiled and told her it was awesome. I didn't tell her that it hurt my feelings that she had been making plans to leave Lima that didn't include me. Sure, she had invited me to go to Chicago, but that was just for a visit, not to live there with her and go to school.

It was at that moment that I realized that I needed to make plans of my own. I couldn't wait for Santana to make plans for me. I couldn't let myself be left behind.

###

"LISTEN UP LOSERS!"

I flinched at Sue's loud voice and wished I was in Glee club instead. Sue had gotten meaner and crazier since school started and cheerleading was not as fun as it used to be. Sometimes I thought about quitting but I needed this for my college applications. Well, that's what Rachel said but I wondered if it had to be cheerleading or if it could be something else. I had always wanted to start my own talk show. Maybe I could be the next Oprah.

"BRITTANY!"

I snapped out of my Oprah fantasy and looked at Sue. "Yes?"

"You're looking ditzier than usual," Sue said, "You haven't been huffing glue have you?"

"Eww, no."

"Hmm…Anyway, I have a special assignment for you. You are going to be my secret weapon in the upcoming competition."

"Awesome!" I smiled and hoped this was my chance to create my own routine and teach everyone.

"You, my special child," Sue said, "Are going to be shot out of a CANON!"

My smile dropped. Santana and Quinn, who were standing on either side of me, both let out a gasp. "What?" I asked.

"A canon!" Sue was pacing in front of us looking really proud of her idea.

"Coach," Santana said, "With all due respect, you cannot shoot a person out of a canon."

"She'll be killed!" Quinn said.

"She'll take one for the team," Sue said.

"I…" I shook my head, "I don't want to. I don't want to die. I still have to be Oprah!"

"See," Sue said, "She probably already has a head injury so this might make her better."

"No way!" Santana shouted, "You're insane! You are not shooting her out of a canon."

Sue got really close to Santana, their noses almost touching. "I'll do with my squad whatever I think is right for the team. If you don't like it, you can leave."

I reached for Santana's hand and laced our pinkies together. "Maybe it won't be so bad." I said softly.

Santana stepped back from Sue and shook her head. "I'm out of here then. See if you can win without me or Britt." Santana began to walk away, taking me with her.

"Or me," Quinn said and followed us.

"GET BACK HERE!" Sue yelled, "YOU'RE MAKING A BIG MISTAKE!"

We didn't listen and kept on walking. I had never been more proud to have Santana and Quinn as my friends as I was at that moment.

###

After storming out of the field, the three of us went to the locker room to change out of our uniforms. Since we didn't expect to quit Cheerios today, we didn't bring any clothes to change into. We all ended up wearing McKinley sweatpants and T-shirts.

"This is crazy," I said. We were in the locker room finishing changing. "If you guys go back now, maybe she won't be so mad and you can still be on the squad."

"Fuck her," Santana said as she tied her shoelaces, "She's insane and I was getting sick of her crazy bullshit. She was going to risk killing you for a number!"

"But..what about the rules?" I asked, "Won't this hurt your popularity?"

"I don't think so," Quinn said, "I think if we get ahead of this, we can make this work. I was getting sick of her crazy bullshit too. She's gone off the rails! With Glee Club winning all those competitions, we're more popular being part of that instead. Besides, we couldn't let her kill you."

"Yeah," Santana said, "It's time someone stood up to that tyrant."

I felt like crying, but in a good way. I honestly never expected Quinn and Santana to put their popularity at risk for me. This wasn't part of the rules. "Thank you."

Santana, who had been sitting on the bench, got up and hugged me really tight. "I wasn't going to let her hurt you," she whispered.

I hugged her tighter and felt the urge to kiss her and I almost did until Quinn spoke.

"Can I get a hug too?"

I let Santana go and opened my arm to Quinn. "Come here." Quinn didn't hug me as tight as Santana but that was OK.

"Well, this is quite a way to go into the end of Junior year," Quinn said, as she pulled back, "But I really do think we can make this work." She went to her locker and cleared everything out and hung her uniform in there. "I'm going to go talk to some people and get ahead of this thing. I'll see you ladies at lunch." Quinn picked up her bag and left.

I turned to Santana and took her hands. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

I was surprised when she stepped closer. "I know I can get caught up in this popularity thing," she said, "But it's not worth your life."

Santana was talking so softly and the best part was that she was looking into my eyes. We were so close that I got the urge to kiss her. So I did. I expected her to push me away since we were at school, but she kissed me back. She was breaking one of her rules.

Santana had made strict rules that we were never supposed to kiss or have sex in school. We could only do that in my room or hers, so Santana kissing me in the gym locker room was so surprising. She let go of my hands and wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me deeper. I put my hands on her waist and pulled her closer.

I heard her moan when I sucked her tongue and I'm sure we would have probably ended up having sex right then and there if we hadn't heard a door slam at the other end of the locker room. Santana jumped back really quick and almost hit her back on the lockers behind her.

We started to hear people talking and knew Sue must have let the Cheerios out early.

"Let's, uh, finish up," Santana said. She threw her uniform in her locker and picked up her bag. I did the same. We walked out of the locker room, neither of us mentioning about what had just happened.

###

By lunch the whole school was talking about how The Unholy Trinity had quit Cheerios. I wasn't sure where that nickname came from but I kinda liked it because it made us sound evil and cool.

That afro reporter guy had tried to interview us but Quinn just handed him an official press release she had typed up in one of her classes. I don't know what Quinn had done after she left the locker room but we were still popular and people actually high-fived us as we walked the halls. It turned out that standing up to Sue was the ultimate wish of every single student at the school.

When we entered the cafeteria, dressed in our McKinley sweats, everyone seemed to stop and look at us. We just stood there with our treys and scanned the room.

"Uh, were do we sit now?" Santana whispered.

I looked at Quinn and she was scanning the room trying to find an empty table but there weren't any. "Follow me," I told them. I led them to the Glee table and I saw my Glee friends' eyes get really big when we arrived. "Hi guys. Do you mind if we sit here?"

I knew they'd say yes because they were cool like that. Even though Santana and Quinn had not been the nicest to them, they would still let them sit at the table. Everyone scooted over and we sat down, Santana and Quinn looking a little uncomfortable.

"Welcome," Rachel said with a big smile. "It's great to have more Glee members sit at the table."

I heard Santana groan so I lightly kicked her under the table. "Thanks Rachel," I said, "I guess you heard what happened?"

"It's all over the school," Rachel said, sounding shocked, "Is it true that Sue wanted to shoot you out on to the field using a giant sling shot?"

"It was a cannon," I said, "And yeah. Santana and Quinn stood up for me and we quit." I turned to look at them and saw they had quietly started eating. I had never seen Santana and Quinn so quiet at lunch.

"That's amazing," Kurt said, "I would have done the same. Sue is insane!"

"She sure is," Mercedes agreed, "And it seems that your little stunt made you guys even more popular."

Quinn finally looked up from her food. "That was the plan and it seems like it worked."

"Does that mean we're going to be popular too?" Artie asked.

"God no," Santana scoffed, "Just because we're sitting here, doesn't elevate you up the social ladder."

"Santana, be nice," I said and she just shrugged her shoulders.

Tina cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her. "You…you can sit here with us, as long as you want."

"Listen…" Santana began, but I cut her off because I knew she was going to say something mean.

"Thank you Tina," I said, "So, did anyone watch the last episode of Vampire Diaries? How annoying was Elena?"

"So annoying," Kurt groaned.

The rest of the lunch went pretty well. Santana and Quinn joined the conversations here and there and by the end, the Glee table seemed to be on the rise as one of the cool tables at McKinley.

###

I had hoped that Santana and I would hang out after school, but she went home. She said she needed to change and decompress after this life altering event. She hadn't mentioned anything about what happened in the locker room and I knew she wouldn't. I knew that she would pretend nothing happened and that she wanted me to do the same.

Santana pretended a lot of things didn't happen, mainly things we did. In the beginning, it was easy for me to pretend that nothing happened, but the more we were together, the harder that got. I didn't want to forget what we did and it made me sad that she did.

I knew she was scared about what others thought about her and I wanted to help her get rid of that feeling. The way she kissed me in the locker room was so, so powerful, I guess that's the right word. It felt like the times when we were having sex and she totally let go and it was just us. I could still feel her hugging me really tight and her lips over mine. OK, that sounded really corny, but I really could still feel her. It really was the most amazing kiss we had ever had and I figured that had scared her.

I wondered if I could make her not want to forget. I wasn't sure, but I wanted to try.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: We've all gotten used to the confident, happy Santana we have seen that it's easy to forget just how scared and unhappy she used to be.**


	8. Window Shopping

By the end of the week Sue was going crazy trying to find replacements for us. She called me into her office on Friday morning and told me that she decided to get rid of the canon for the routine.

"So, now you and your minions can come back to the squad and stop this silly idea of civilian life."

I sat there in my plaid pants, monkey shirt and boots thinking how much I had liked wearing actual clothes to school this whole week. "No."

"Excuse me?" Sue leaned forward and looked a little confused.

I shook my head. "I don't want to come back. If Santana and Quinn want to, you should ask them, but I don't want to be a Cheerio anymore."

"Listen, Barbie. I realize you get confused easily but let me spell this out for you. You need the squad. You need to be a Cheerio. I know about your college applications and how you're applying to those schools in Chicago."

"How..how do you know?" I suddenly worried that Sue would somehow mess up my chances.

"I know everything," Sue said, "If it wasn't for your freakish ability to understand numbers, I'd laugh at you even trying to get into a college. But you have a chance, and quitting Cheerios will look bad on your applications. Do you want that? Do you want to see your girlfriend go off to Chicago without you?"

"Wha…what?" Did she know? Did she know about me and Santana? I got really scared because if Sue knew, then who else knew? Santana would be so mad. "What do you mean?"

"I know you and Sandbags are attached at the hip." Sue got up and began to pace around her office. "Stupid best friend crap. And I know Santana is keen to go to college in Chicago and even without Cheerios, she'll get in. Her whole family is pretty prominent in the city and can pull strings. Plus she's pretty smart. But you, you don't have any strings to pull."

I was glad Sue didn't seem to know about what Santana and I did in private, but now I was worried about not getting into any Chicago schools. I knew Sue was just scaring me but she did have a point. What if I didn't get in to any of those Chicago schools? What then? But I didn't let Sue know she had me worried. "I have a back up plan."

"Is that right?"

"I was already thinking about a backup plan for quitting the squad before that canon stuff." I smiled when Sue looked surprised. "Next week, is the first episode of my new talk show. Fondue for Two. I have a channel and everything. Artie is helping me stream it worldwide."

Sue just stared at me with her mouth open. I guess I shut her up. I smiled even bigger and got up. Sue seemed to recover and finally spoke as I was out the door.

"Bit of advice, Blondie. Don't put all your hopes on Chicago. It's never a good idea to live your life according to how others are living theirs."

"What do you mean?"

Sue sighed really loud and sat back down. "Santana may want to build a life in Chicago, but that doesn't mean she wants you there with her. She's thinking of her own future and you should think of yours. Are these Chicago schools even a good fit for what you want to do with your life? What do you want to do anyway?"

I thought about how Santana had looked at schools last time she was there and didn't mention it to me. If I hadn't asked, I wouldn't have known. I thought about how Santana hadn't even asked me what I wanted to do after high school or what schools I wanted to go to. I thought about how she always wanted to forget after being together.

"I….."

I didn't answer. I just turned around and left Sue's office thinking about her question.

What did I want to do?

###

I finished solving the last problem on my calculus class and smiled. This class was so easy. I looked around the room and saw everyone with confused or worried looks on their faces. I smiled bigger. I knew it was mean, but this was the only class where I wasn't the one totally confused for a change. I was always the first one to finish and I was the only one who had gotten a perfect score on all the tests.

I was done with my test 30 minutes before the class finished. I put my pencil down and looked over my answers and wondered if I should find a career in math. I had an uncle who was an accountant and I tried to picture myself as one. I yawned. That sounded so boring. I could be a math teacher, but that sounded boring too.

I sighed and got up to turn in my test.

"Thanks Brittany," Mr. Widdle said, "Well, you know the drill. Sit at your desk until class ends."

"Can I just go? I didn't bring any magazines and you said we can't use our phones. I promise I won't wonder the hallways. I want to go to the choir room and practice my assignment song."

Mr. Widdle looked around the room before looking at me. "Fine," he said really softly, "But go straight to the choir room, OK?"

I gave him two thumbs up before going to my desk to get my things. As usual, I got some jealous looks that I had finished so fast. I picked up my things and snuck out to go to the choir room.

###

I expected the choir room to be empty but I found Rachel sitting in her regular Glee seat and I wondered if she even went to class or just hung out here all the time.

"Brittany!" Rachel looked up from the book she was reading. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you live here? You're always in here."

Rachel smiled and shook her head. "I have a free period this hour. I usually come here to study. What about you?"

"I finished my calculus test super early and the teacher let me leave." I went to the seat next to Rachel and dropped my bag, then went to sit on the next seat.

"I have to say Brittany, I am quite surprised, in a good way, that you are such a genius with math. I never would have expected that."

"No one does," I shrugged, "I'm pretty good at science too."

"That's fantastic!" Rachel closed her book and turned to face me. "We can use that to give you and edge with some of those applications."

I was so glad I had Rachel to talk to about things like this now. For some reason, I couldn't picture myself talking about all of this with Santana and I wasn't sure how to feel about that. Santana was my best friend but I always worried that I'd make her mad if I talked about things she didn't want to talk about. So I didn't. But now I had Rachel and I felt like I could talk to her and she wouldn't get mad.

"I'm worried," I said.

"About what?"

"I don't know what I want to study. And like, what if I don't get to any of those Chicago schools? Maybe I should apply to other places too. Are you just applying to New York schools?"

"Well, I am hoping to get in NAYADA in New York, but…." Rachel sighed and stood up. "Like you, I don't have any backup schools. I think you have a point. We should apply to other schools too."

Rachel made me feel better. It was like I had partner in crime for colleges. "So what do you want to study?"

"Music, theater, acting," Rachel said, "I want to be a Broadway star."

"What's your backup plan for that? That's gotta be super hard to do."

"I…well, I never considered being anything else." Rachel's shoulders slumped and she looked worried. "You're right! What if I don't make it? Then what?"

I got up and gave her a hug. "Don't worry, you'll be OK. At least you know what you want to do."

Rachel hugged me back and pulled back. "What do you want to do Brittany? Something in math?"

I let her go and went to my bag. I searched through the front pocket and pulled out one of the post cards I had made to advertise my show. "I have no idea," I said as I walked back and handed her the post card, "I'm awesome with numbers but I don't know if I want to do that. So far, being the next Oprah is at the top of my list."

Rachel looked at the post card, smiled then looked up at me. "Do you need a manager?"

I laughed and took the card back. We spent the rest of the time trying to decide where else to apply. One thing we were sure of was that we didn't want to stay in Ohio.

###

The rest of the week I did a lot of research on what schools to apply. Rachel said there was a deadline and the sooner we applied the better. We still had like two months left of junior year and everyone was more concerned about getting a date for Junior Prom than applying to college.

Eva helped me too and I was so glad I had her and Rachel to help me with this. I wanted to ask Santana about this but something was stopping me.

Mike had been hanging around me all week, and I figured he wanted to ask me to Junior Prom but it seemed like every time he started to ask me, Santana was around and she would change the subject.

I wondered if Santana would be my date. Santana hadn't tried to kiss me or be with me since we kissed in the locker room. I guess our public make out session had scared her.

_I told you so._

"Shut up brain!" I muttered.

Just as my brain had predicted, she didn't mention it and pretended like it didn't happen. I wondered how long she'd last before coming to me again. We still hung out all the time, but she made sure to not get too close. She reminded me of my dad quitting smoking again.

I was sitting in the library looking through college catalogs and trying to see what schools looked cool. I still really wanted to go to Chicago even though Santana hadn't said she wanted me there with her. She wouldn't be mad if I followed her, right?

I sighed and closed the catalog for a school in Idaho. It looked boring. As I grabbed the catalog for the University of Los Angeles, Santana sat down across from me and took it away.

"What is this?" she whispered, "Why are you reading this ULA catalog?"

I took it back and opened it to the first page. "I think I'm going to apply here. You know, for college."

Santana moved around the other catalogs I had on the table and picked up one for another LA school. "CULA? Are you…do you want to move to California?"

I shrugged. "Maybe." Santana looked really surprised and it made me a little upset. "What? You don't think I can get into college?"

"What? That's not it, no, Brittany," she shook her head, "I mean, I know you can…I just, I didn't know you wanted to go to college."

I huffed and continued turning pages. "You never asked me."

"I…just…I'm sorry. I should have asked." She picked up the catalog for Chicago. "You want to go to Chicago?"

I looked up expecting her to look mad but she had a small smile. "Maybe. I'm just window-shopping right now. Rachel says we have to have our final list soon."

Her smile disappeared. "Rachel? What does that hobbit have to do with this?"

"Please don't call her that," I sighed, "Rachel and Eva have been helping me with my essay and filling out the applications." I pointed to the small stack of New York schools. "They both want to go to New York and I think I might apply there too."

"Eva too?" Her voice was harsh. "So, wait. Are you following Rachel Berry and Evil Hag to New York?"

I ignored the mean name she called Eva. "No, but it'd be cool to move to a city where I know someone." I put the ULA catalog down and looked at my best friend. "Would you be mad if I followed you to Chicago?"

"Of course not," Santana said, quickly, "The both of us living in Chicago would be awesome."

"Then why haven't you said something? You looked at schools and didn't say anything."

"It's just so early," Santana said, "And I didn't think you wanted to go to college so I just never mentioned it and figured you could come to Chicago with me anyway. I wasn't going to leave without you."

I should have been happy that she said that but all I could think about was what Sue said. How Santana had been making plans for her own future and that didn't include me. "So, you thought I'd just move to Chicago with you and do what? If you didn't think I was thinking about college, what was I going to do there?"

"Hang out with me," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Again, I should have been happy to hear her answer. A few months ago I would have been because all I really wanted was to be with Santana. A few months ago I wasn't worrying about what I wanted to do after high school. Sue was mean, but she did have a point and I needed to think about my own future.

"That's not enough," I said and my answer seemed to make her sad, "I can't just hang out with you, Santana. As awesome as that sounds, it's not enough. Like, what am I going to do for a job? Unless you're going to pay me to be your friend. Or, I don't know, marry me and I can be one of those desperate housewives like that show."

Santana seemed to get really uncomfortable all of a sudden and started shuffling in her seat. "Maybe we should talk about this later."

I closed the catalog and started gathering the others on the table. "Fine."

We got up and I went to give the catalogs back to the librarian. Luckily, I had looked through all of them before Santana got there and I already had a good idea of what schools had what I wanted to apply.

###

"Is everyone set for Junior Prom?" Kurt asked.

We were all sitting at the Glee table eating lunch, including Santana and Quinn. They had gotten more comfortable sitting with everyone and I had even caught Quinn talking to Mercedes and Rachel about clothes. I knew that if they just spent time with my Glee friends, they'd see how awesome they were.

"I am!" Rachel said, "I already have my dress and…a date."

The whole table looked shocked. "That's great Rachel," I said, "What color is your dress?"

"Forget that," Santana said with a laugh, "Who is desperate enough to go out with you?"

"Is it so hard to imagine someone interested in me?" Rachel looked offended.

"YES!" Quinn and Santana said at the same time.

Rachel rolled her eyes and looked at me. "My dress is beautiful. How about you come over after school and I'll show you."

"For sure!" I smiled.

"Answer the question Berry!" Santana insisted.

"Fine," Rachel huffed, "His name is Jesse and he's a senior."

"Who the hell is Jesse?" Santana asked, "Wait, is he invisible and only you can see him?"

"He goes to another school," Rachel explained, "Anyway, at least I have a date. How about you Santana? I heard Puck is taking Lauren Zizes."

I looked at Santana and she had her jaw clenched and that vain in her neck was almost popping out. I was also curious about who Santana was taking to prom since she hadn't even mentioned the dance.

"Don't worry about me, Hobbit," Santana said, "I have a date and a killer red dress."

"Who is your date?" Quinn asked before I could.

Santana gave everyone her famous smirk. "You'll see."

I looked down at my food and tried to think of who Santana would be taking. I had kinda hoped we could be each other's dates. I guess that was a dumb idea.

When lunch ended and everyone was cleaning up, Mike came by the table and said he wanted to talk to me and that he'd walk me to my class. I told Quinn and Santana that I wouldn't be walking with them. Santana didn't look happy.

"So Britt," Mike said as we walked down the hall, "I've been…uh, OK, so for the last few weeks, uh, I've been meaning to ask you something?"

I giggled a little at how nervous he sounded. "You wanna ask me out, huh?"

He stopped walking and so did I. "How did you know?"

"I'm really good at reading people," I said, "You were circling around like a creepy shark."

"Sorry," he said, "Umm, so do you want to go to prom with me?"

I really liked Mike and I still thought we'd have fun going out again. I turned to look down the hall and spotted Quinn and Santana a little far down. I guess they were trying to spy on me or something. I turned back to Mike. "That sounds fun. Yeah, let's go."

"Awesome!" Mike was grinning like the Joker, but not in a creepy way.

I let him walk me to my class, glad I also had a date to the prom.

###

I tried to get Santana to tell me who her date was but she kept telling me that it was a surprise. She was being really weird about the whole thing and I started to wonder if she even had a date and just said she did because Rachel had one.

I was in my room setting up my camera for my very first episode of Fondue for Two. I had two guests lined up and a we were going to talk about the hottest topics at school. Gossip and prom.

Mercedes and Tina had been totally happy to be my first guests and having the schools two biggest gossips was going to make a great show. The afro reporter guy, who I finally found out his name was, Jacob, was not happy that I was making a show. He said he had the exclusive rights to McKinley news. I just shrugged and gave him a post card advertising my show.

"This is going to be fun!" Mercedes said. She sat next to Tina and took a piece of fruit I had set up around the fondue pot.

"This is awesome Brittany," Tina said.

"Thanks! I hope this is my first step in becoming the next Oprah." I adjusted my cool rainbow belt and sat in my seat. "Are you guys ready?"

"Let's do this!" Mercedes fixed her hair and smiled big.

I turned on the camera and started my show.

We talked about gossip, prom and sports. I think. I'm not sure but there was talk about playing for other teams. The team talk seemed to really interest Tina and Mercedes, especially when I mentioned that Santana played for the other team. I mean, she does now. So do I and so does Quinn. We were on the Cheerios team and now we're on the Glee team. I'm not sure what the big deal was.

Lord Tubbignton made his debut on camera and was a big hit. My cat is awesome. I adopted him like two months ago and it was like he had always lived here. I used to have another cat, Charity, but she died. That had been a year ago and I had to mourn but when I saw Lord Tubbington at the shelter, I had to have him. He was seven months old, but looked older. Oh, and he's super fat. But he's sensitive about it so I don't bring it up.

Santana wasn't too happy I got him, but she eventually accepted him.

I spent the rest of the night editing my show and I posted it the next morning before heading off to school. I posted it and alerted my subscribers and I kept getting views all day. By the end of the day, I found out my show was a hit. Everyone was talking about it and about playing on teams.

I was sitting in Glee club and everyone was fighting about something. Apparently the rumors and gossip had gotten out of hand and things were a mess. I just sat there watching since it was a little entertaining. I was watching Quinn, Finn and Puck were arguing about how Finn heard Quinn and Puck were having an affair. Kurt and Rachel were fighting about how Rachel thought Kurt had stolen the next big solo. I thought about how glad I was that I didn't have any drama when Santana burst in the room and started yelling at me.

"What the hell, Brittany?" she shouted, "Why did you say I play for the other team on that dumb melted cheese show of yours?"

"But you do play for the other team! You were on the Cheerios and now you're just in New Directions. Quinn and I play for the other team too. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that it sounds like…." Santana put her arms on her hips and shook her head. "It sounds like something else! I've already had offers to join the golf team!"

"I don't know what that means," I said.

"Forget it!" Santana walked to her chair and sat down, her arms crossed. She turned her body away from me.

Luckily Mr. Shue came in and calmed everyone down. I tried to get Santana's attention thought the class but she kept ignoring me.

After school, Mike and I went to the Lima Bean and we had fun. We shared a shake and I thought we were pretty cute. I felt comfortable with him and things were easy and not complicated. We had a talk and we decided to not be totally official and just start with prom for now. It was kinda like how Eva was my friend I made out with at parties. Mike was my friend who was sometimes my boyfriend.

I looked around and saw that a lot of people from school were also there. Including Santana. She was sitting with Kurt, Tina and Finn. I looked away before she caught me staring.

About ten minutes later, I looked up and she was gone.

###

Santana didn't talk to me for three days. She switched seats in the classes we had together and I got a ride to and from school from Rachel. On the third day, everyone seemed to have made up and forgot about the whole team thing and the rumors.

I was used to Santana not talking to me for days so I just went on with my business. Normally I'd try to be nice to her in hopes she'd talk to me sooner but I just let her be. I reminded myself of my promise to not wait for her anymore since I always ended up sad when I did.

I got to Glee club and everyone was there. Everyone except Santana. She came in last followed by Dave Karofsky. I was so confused and so was the rest of the club.

"Attention everyone," Santana said with a big smile, "I have an announcement. I know many of you.." she looked at Rachel, "Have been wondering who I'm taking to prom. Well, it's Dave."

Gross. I scrunched up my nose looking at them. I sighed and shook my head. This wasn't right. Santana had never once even mentioned Karofsky or looked his way. To be honest, I always got the feeling Karofsky rode unicorns like Kurt.

"What the hell is this?" Puck asked.

Santana took Karofsky's hand and intertwined their fingers. Gross again.

"Dave and I are dating," Santana said holding her head high. She glanced at me really fast then looked away.

"Umm, Santana," Quinn said, "I don't think…."

"Anyway," Santana went on, "Dave and I are running for prom king and queen so you better vote for us."

I just shook my head and looked away.

###

The next day at school, I didn't feel so well. Mike tried to cheer me up but I just felt sick. I went to my locker and started taking out my books when I heard Jacob start shouting questions. I looked up and saw Santana. He was asking her about Karofsky and if he was her soulmate. I caught her eye and I really thought she was going to say no, that it was dumb that Karofsky wasn't her soulmate. She didn't.

"Yeah," Santana said looking at me.

I looked down and then at my locker. I felt like I wanted to throw up. I knew she was lying. There is no way that guy, who she probably just started talking to, was her soulmate. No way.

I hated how easy it was for her to make me sad.

###

After her announcement, Santana finally talked to me during our first class together.

I had been sitting next to Artie these past few days but he wasn't here today because he had a doctor's appointment. Santana sat next to me, I did't look up.

"Hey," she said really softly.

"Hi." I didn't want to be rude and I did miss talking to her.

"How are you?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "OK."

"So, uh, do you have your dress?" I nodded. "What color is it?"

"Yellow."

She let out a big sigh. "Look Britt, I'm sorry, OK? I just freaked out with that whole team thing. But everything is back to normal so we can forget it."

"OK." I didn't fell like talking. I didn't like that she stopped talking to me when she got upset because of something she thought I did. Then, when things were fine, she'd be my friend again.

"Are you mad at me?"

Was she serious? She was the one who wouldn't talk to me for three days! "No."

She didn't say anything again until halfway through class. "Do you need a ride home after school," she whispered.

I shook my head. "Rachel's giving me a ride. Anyway, you have a boyfriend again so shouldn't you hang out with him?"

"Whatever," she sighed and turned her attention back to the teacher.

I stayed quiet the rest of the class. I shouldn't be mad at her but I was. I was mad she was with Karofsky. I was mad about the soulmate comment. I know it was silly since I was with Mike, but I wasn't calling Mike my soulmate or anything. It took her three days to get over whatever I did and now I needed some time too.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: Wow, thanks for all the follows and reviews. I didn't expect that since the show is over (well the Brittana parts). Thank you. This story won't all be from Britt's POV. Part II we get into Santana's head. Not sure about Part III yet. Maybe Lord Tubbington's thoughts. :p**


	9. Trying

The day of prom was pretty hectic. Rachel invited all the girls to get ready at her house and I was surprised when everyone said yes. Even Santana and Quinn. We were all in Rachel's basement and there were clothes and makeup everywhere.

"Crap!" Tina shouted, "Does anyone have extra black eyeliner?"

"I do," Santana said handing it to her.

I smiled because Santana was being so nice to everyone. Well, nice for Santana but that was still great. I was the first one to get ready and just sat on the couch watching everyone else and texting with Eva every now and then. She was having her Junior Prom too and she was texting me that her date was a girl. I told her I'd call her tomorrow so I could get details.

I really liked that we were getting ready at Rachel's and that we all had become friends. Tina, Mercedes, Rachel, Quinn, Santana and I had been getting ready for the last two hours and we were actually having fun.

Things were still a little weird between me and Santana but we were talking. She and Quinn were competing for queen and had campaigned against each other for the last week. They had a weird relationship. Like, they competed against each other and fought but they never stopped talking. It was like they liked arguing with each other. I was a little jealous of that because, with me, Santana would stop talking to me when we had a fight.

"Have you practiced your loser smile, Quinn?" Santana asked, with a smirk.

"Bitch, please," Quinn laughed, "I've got this locked down. There is no way you and that fake boyfriend of yours win."

I quickly looked to Santana and saw her fidget a little. I wondered why Quinn had called him a fake boyfriend. I mean, in the week they had been dating, I only saw them together twice and both times they looked so uncomfortable holding hands you'd think they'd never held anyone's hand before. I still got a strange vibe about them. Not to mention I caught Dave checking out Kurt's ass the other day.

"And you think you and that new kid with the trouty lips have a shot?" Santana laughed, "He's been at this school two weeks! No one knows who he is and I think he's homeless."

"Shut up Santana!" Quinn went to the mirror and finished her makeup. "Sam is not homeless and everyone loves him already. He's new enough that everyone thinks he's cool but hasn't been here long enough to have anyone hate him. It's perfect."

"I like Sam," Mercedes said, "He seems cool. I like his impressions."

I giggled. "Yeah, his impression of Kermit the Frog is amazing."

"He looks like a fish," Santana said.

"I don't care," Quinn said, "I'm not interested in dating him and we're going as friends. He's a good running mate and you'll see us walk that stage."

"I'm glad Artie and I aren't running," Tina said, "We're just going to go and have fun."

"Same with me and Marcus," Mercedes said.

Rachel sighed loudly. "It's a shame Jesse goes to another school and can't run. We'd win for sure." Quinn and Santana started laughing. "Anyway, Brittany, why aren't you and Mike running? You guys would have a decent shot."

Mike had asked me if I wanted to run and I said no. I didn't want to put up posters or campaign to be queen. It sounded like too much work to just be in the spotlight for like an hour. If I was going to make posters and make people vote for me, I'd want it to be for like president.

"I didn't want to," I said shrugging my shoulders, "I just want to go to prom and dance."

I caught Santana looking at me and she kinda looked guilty for some reason. I gave her a small smile and she smiled back. It was nice and I would have smiled bigger but my phone buzzed. "Oh! The guys are here."

"Oh crap!" Tina said, her breathing picking up. "I'm nervous now."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Relax Chang. You're dating a robot nerd. No need to get your panties all twisted."

I got up and adjusted my tiny top hat. "Alright, let's go dance!"

###

When we got there, I took Mike's hand and dragged him to the dance floor. I really just wanted to dance and have fun and not think about kings or queens or college. We all got a table and every now and then Mike and I would go back to have a drink and talk with our friends.

I caught glimpses of Santana dancing and hanging out with Dave but I tried not to stare at her too much. She looked so beautiful in her red dress and her hair down. I loved when she had her hair down and was a little curly. I really wanted to go up to her and ask her for a dance but I knew she'd say no, so I just danced with Mike the whole night.

When the time came to announce the winner, Mike and I stood next to Rachel and Jesse and waited for the announcement. Jesse was pretty cool and I as soon as I met him I knew why Rachel liked him. Jesse was the female Rachel. It was kinda funny and made me wonder if there was a boy Brittany out there.

All the nominees were on stage and I smiled watching how happy Santana looked up there. I really hope she won.

"And your Junior Prom King is….David Karofsky!"

Everyone started clapping and cheering. Quinn looked pissed. Santana was practically jumping up and down and I laughed at how cute she looked. I was so happy because if Dave won, then that meant Santana was probably going to win.

"And your Junior Prom Queen is.., uh…this can't be right." Principle Figgins looked around the stage super confused. "Umm…Kurt Hummel?"

The room got quiet and no one moved. The spotlight moved from the stage to the audience and found Kurt. I wasn't sure what to think. Could a guy be Queen? Does that mean a girl could run for king? Everyone was looking at Kurt as he slowly walked up to the stage but I was looking at Santana. She looked devastated and I knew she was about to cry.

As Kurt made it to the stairs, Santana ran off stage. I quickly told Mike I'd be right back and left to find Santana. I knew she wouldn't be backstage if she was crying because there would probably be people back there. I searched for her in the classrooms and finally found her.

"Hi." Her back was to me and I could hear her sniffling. "I'm sorry you didn't win."

"I don't get it," she sniffed, "How come no one voted for me? Why don't people like me? Do I smell like a golf course?"

I stepped closer and put my hand on her arm and turned her around to face me. Her mascara was running and she still had tears in her eyes. "I voted for you."

She took a breath and I swear I saw her almost smile. "You did?"

"Yeah. You're awesome Santana and you don't need some plastic crown to prove that. You can get those at a party store. All those people out there don't know the real you, someone who is smart, funny, and sweet."

She let out a short laugh. "I am not sweet."

"You're sweet to me. And your family. And even earlier today, you let Tina borrow your eyeliner. That was sweet."

I was glad when Santana smiled. She looked at me for a long moment and I got goosebumps. "Why do you put up with me?" she whispered, "I'm a mess and you deserve better."

I stepped closer and put one hand on her waist and used the other to wipe the mascara that had run down her cheeks. She looked so fragile that I just wanted to hug and protect her. "We're all a mess. We're teenagers. You're my best friend and I know what an amazing person you can be. You just need to let the real Santana come out and let everyone see her. Everyone's going to love her but you have to give them the chance to get to know her."

She took in a sharp breath and I thought she was going to start crying and was glad she didn't. Her lip trembled a little so she bit it to make it stop. I hope she knew what I was trying to tell her without me actually saying it out loud. I knew she wasn't ready to hear that.

"I believe in you, Santana."

Her breathing picked up a bit and she kept eye contact with me, which kinda made me nervous. All I ever wanted was for her to look at me and now that she was, I wanted to look away.

She stepped closer to me and I thought she was going to hug me but instead she kissed me. I was really surprised and it took me a second to realize what was happening but when I did, I kissed her back.

The kiss was really soft and only last for a few seconds before Santana pulled back. I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me again and I didn't know what to say.

"Thank you," she whispered.

I nodded and she leaned in and kissed me again. This time, she put her arms around my neck and kissed me a little harder. I pulled her closer to me and opened my mouth to deepen the kiss. She tasted amazing.

I knew we shouldn't be doing this but it had been so long since I kissed her that I didn't want to stop. I missed that tingling feeling I got when I was with her and how my stomach felt like it was doing somersaults.

We kept kissing and it seemed like Santana didn't want to stop either and I even heard her moan softly. I pulled away just enough to look at her. "Are you OK?"

She nodded and and gave me a quick kiss. "I'm better now." One of her hands was caressing my neck and I had to try really hard not to close my eyes. "I like your little hat."

"You know how much I love top hats," I said with a small laugh, "I really like your dress."

"Hmmm." Santana closed her eyes and leaned in, her mouth close to my ear. "You told me once that red was your favorite color on me."

Her mouth was nibbling on my neck and I couldn't keep my eyes open. "You look really hot in red." I moved my hand from her waist to her back. I moved them up and down until I went past her waist to her ass. Santana hummed against my neck. She really did have a great ass and since I hadn't touched it in a long time, I kept my hands there.

"I miss you," Santana said. She licked my neck then moved her mouth to mine again and kissed me. Her tongue was massaging mine and it felt so good. I squeezed her butt and brought her closer. We kissed for a long time again until Santana stopped. "Let's leave. My mom is staying over her boyfriend's house so it'll be just us."

I almost said yes. I really wanted to keep kissing her but if I went to her house we'd do more than kissing. Which would be awesome but I didn't want to start sleeping together again yet. "I can't."

She put her hands on my shoulders and pushed me back to really look at me. "Why?

"I can't just ditch Mike and you can't ditch Karofsky."

"Uh, yes we can. They're big boys and can find their way home."

I let her go and stepped away from her. "Santana. I can't do this again. You have a boyfriend but want to mess around with me. And I have a…Mike. I know you said it's not cheating if the plumbing is different, but it is and I can't…I don't want to do that again."

Santana took in a slow, deep breath and looked away. She didn't say anything for a long time and just slowly paced back and forth. When she finally stopped and looked at me, I was surprised she didn't look mad. "OK."

"OK? You're not mad?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to be mad at you anymore. I mean, I never was. I can't be. All those times…it was about my own fucked up problems."

"What problems?"

"It doesn't matter. Let's go back out there and find our dates." She wiped her cheeks and smoothed out her dress. "And I want to make sure Kurt's OK. Being voted queen must have upset him."

I smiled and went to her and kissed her cheek. "See, you are sweet."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Shut up."

"So we're OK?"

"Yeah, Britt, we're OK."

I felt so relived. Maybe the real Santana was finally starting to show herself. I took her hand and we wen to go find Kurt.

###

Kurt was not OK. When Santana and I found him, he was surrounded by the rest of the Glee club and it looked like he had been crying. I felt so bad for him. Some of the football players and Cheerios had stuffed the ballot box to get Kurt to win to play a joke on him. One of those football players was Karofsky. When Santana found out, she dumped him. She yelled at him in the middle of the hallway between classes and made a big scene. It was awesome.

Karofsky didn't even get a chance to say anything before Santana walked off. By the end of the day, Karofsky and the other people in the prank were revealed and they got shouted at by members of the Glee club. I was just glad Mike, Puck and Finn had nothing to do with the prank. Especially Finn, since he was now Kurt's brother or something.

A few days later, Kurt was feeling better and everyone at school had moved on to other things. Santana and I were back to being best friends who hung out and held hands. We joked around and spent as much time together as we could. We didn't make out or have sex, mainly because I didn't want to rush things. I didn't want us to go back to the same thing we used to do and we still hadn't even talked about the whole college thing.

Mike and I were at the Lima Bean drinking coffee and I wanted to know what we were. So far we had only made out a few times and I could tell he wanted to do more, but I wasn't sure I wanted to. We had slept together before, when we dated the first time, so it wasn't like it would be new.

"Uh, Mike?" My hands were cold so I had them around my cup.

"Is you coffee OK?"

"Oh, it's totally fine. I have a question?"

He gave me a big smile and leaned forward. "What's up?"

"OK, I know we went to prom but are we dating?"

Mike leaned back and scratched his chin. "Like official boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to be?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "A few months ago, I did. Now? I'm not sure."

"So, you don't like me?" He looked a little hurt so I reached across and took his hand.

"I totally do. And we have fun and I like being with you."

"Me too."

"But, like, do you want to go back to dating? I mean, we broke up the first time because, after a while, we forgot we were dating."

He laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, that was weird."

Mike and I had been really into each other when we first started dating and it was great. As time went on we started being a little less into each other until eventually we went days without seeing each other. So we decided to just be friends.

"Maybe we should just keep it casual," I suggested, "Like, we can be each other's dates when we need one and hang out like we are now."

Mike leaned back and nodded. "That sounds good. You're right, we should keep it casual. It seems to work for us. Can we still make out?"

"Sure," I shrugged.

"Sex?" he asked, looking super hopeful.

"We'll see."

"Can we see other people then?"

I immediately thought about Santana. "I think that would be OK. At least until we decide if we want to be exclusive." Boom. Used another calendar word.

"Awesome!"

I smiled and took a sip of my coffee. I was so glad that was cleared up.

###

"This is so exciting!" Rachel squealed, "We're going to New York!"

"It's pretty awesome," I said, laughing, "I've never been there. Have you?"

"No," Rachel grinned, "This is amazing. I get to check out the city I'll be living in next year!"

Rachel and I were the only ones in the choir room. We still had twenty amounts before the rest of the club would start showing up. We were competing in the Superbowl of Glee clubs and everyone was so excited to go on the trip. We were leaving in a few days and this was going to be the first time many of us would be on a trip without our parents.

"OK, so," Rachel continued, "This is a perfect opportunity for us to visit some of those New York schools you are considering. Based on the itinerary Mr. Shue gave us, I think we have enough time to visit my schools and yours."

"OK, yeah. Let's do that."

"I have to say Brittany, I really do hope you consider a school in New York. It would be nice to have a friend there."

"Isn't Kurt going to some fashion school there?"

"Maybe, but he's also considering going to Paris."

"Whoa! That's crazy. Though, it'd be awesome to to live where the French fry was born."

Rachel let out a laugh. "I'm glad we became friends Brittany."

"Me too," I smiled, "And I promise to really consider New York. Oh! Then we could be roommates like Monica and Rachel!"

We talked about New York until people started showing up. When Santana came in, she smiled at me and went to the last row and took a seat. I told Rachel I'd talk to her later and got up to go sit next to Santana.

"Hey," Santana said when I sat down, "Are you sure Smurfette won't be mad you left her side?"

"I thought you were being nice to her?" I turned to face her and smiled.

Santana stared down at Rachel and then up at me. "You guys have become pretty good friends, huh?"

I nodded. "She's helped me a lot. You know with college."

"Oh, that." The choir room was getting noisy with everyone talking to each other. "I guess we still need to talk about that."

"Yeah." I looked down at my hands on my lap. "Is Chicago the only city you want to go to?" I looked back up to see Santana bitting her lip.

She shrugged. "I really like the city and my whole family is there, aunts, uncles, cousins. My mom said that she was going to move there after graduation."

That made a lot of sense. No matter how badass Santana said she was and how she always wanted people to think she was mean and tough, she really wasn't. It made sense that she would want to move to a city close to her family so she wouldn't be alone. I understood that and I couldn't be mad at her for that but I wondered…

"You know," I said, "If you want to go to another city, with me, we could have fun. If we go to LA we can see dolphins and learn surfing."

Santana laughed. "That'd be pretty cool."

"Totally!"

She bent down and reached for her bag and took out a folder. "Here," she said, giving me the folder, "It's information about the dance program at Illinois University of Chicago. It looks cool."

"You wanna study dance?" I opened the folder and saw pictures on dancers looking happy dancing and studying.

"No, Britt, for you."

"Me?" I looked up at her and she nodded.

"Yeah. When I saw you looking through those catalogues and saw the Chicago ones, I got this one for you. I'm sorry I assumed you didn't want to go to college. That wasn't fair. I mean, any college would be lucky to have your genius mind. This is the school I want to go to."

I couldn't help it. I smiled really big. She did want me to go with her to Chicago and it made me feel all warm inside that she had given me this folder. "That's awesome."

"My mom and I are going to Chicago this summer and, uh, maybe you can come too and we can visit the school."

I couldn't stop smiling. "Can we visit the giant jelly bean?"

"Yeah, Britt," she laughed, "I'll take you to the giant jelly bean."

"Awesome!"

Mr. Shue shouted to get everyone's attention. Everyone turned around and listened to him talk about the Glee Superbowl. I put away the folder and as Mr. Shue talked, I thought about how awesome it would be to go to college with Santana. It was very sweet that she got me that folder and I had to find a way to tell her that I did't want to study dance.

###

I was staring at my closet trying to decide what else I should take to New York. We were leaving tomorrow morning and even though we were only going for three days I didn't want to forget anything. I already had my outfit all picked out and couldn't wait to go.

I heard my door open and I thought it was my mom or sister but I was surprised to see it was Santana. "Oh, hey!" I looked at my kitty clock and saw it was almost 8:30. "Is everything OK? It's kinda late."

She walked further into my room and I saw she was dragging her suitcase. "I should have called first."

As soon as I saw her suitcase I knew she came to sleep over. "That's OK. Is your mom staying over her boyfriend's?"

She shook her head and looked a little tense. "Work. She has a conference in Cincinnati and I thought it'd be cool if I came over so we could leave for the airport together."

I walked to her and took her suitcase and rolled it to the corner. I then went to close my door so that my sister wouldn't barge in. She did that a lot when Santana was around. "Super cool. Now you can help me finish packing."

Santana relaxed and laughed. We spent the next hour packing and actually had fun. When we finished, I closed my suitcase and rolled it next to Santana's. "You wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure. Let's change into our PJs though," she said, "I need to relax."

We took turns changing in my bathroom. I went first and while Santana was getting ready, I pulled back the covers of my bed and then set up the Apple TV. I sat on my side of the bed and started browsing movies when Santana came out. "No horror movies, OK? I want to be able to sleep so I'm not tired for New York," I said.

Santana stood in front of my bed dressed in her black cotton shorts and tight tank top. Her hair was down and she looked so beautiful. I quickly looked back at my TV and started browsing again. I didn't want to start drooling.

"Then no animated movies," Santana said, "I'd like to see a movie with real people."

I nodded and kept my focus on the TV but I could still see her through my side eyes. She walked over to my desk and sat in the chair.

"Do you still have your air mattress?"

I looked away from the TV at Santana sitting with her legs crossed on my chair. "Yeah, it's in my closet. Why? Are you going camping?"

She got up and went into my closet, looking for the box. "I want to lie down. I wanna blow it up before we start the movie."

I dropped the remote and went to a kneeling Santana who was moving stuff around in my closet. I bent down and put my arms under her armpits and pulled her up. "What are you talking about?"

She turned around and she looked so shy that I wanted to hug her. "I need to sleep somewhere and your floor is not comfortable."

"Why would you sleep on my floor?" I smiled. "You always sleep with me in my bed."

"But I thought…you know, we weren't doing that." Santana bit her lip and took a breath. She said that so softly and that meant she was nervous about my answer.

I pulled her out of the closet and closed the door. "Don't be silly," I said leading her to my bed, "Get in so we can pick a movie."

While Santana got into bed I turned off the lights. When I turned around to face her, she had settled on her side and covered herself up to her chin. I went to the bed and got in and gave Santana the control. "Pick something."

"I don't care what's on." She gave me back the control, closing her eyes. "I'll just listen."

I turned off the TV and put the controls on my nightstand. I laid down on my side to face Santana and even though it was dark, the moon had it's nightlight turned on so I could see her pretty well. "What's wrong?"

She opened her eyes and just looked at me for a log moment before she answered. "I can't stay away from you," she whispered.

"Yes you can. You've stayed away all those times you were mad at me." I whispered back.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I was…that was hard," she said, opening her eyes, "I didn't want to… stay away, I had to."

"Why?"

"I just had to," she said again, "I told you, Britt, I'm a mess and I feel like I'm going to explode."

"Like a bomb?" I wish I knew what she was saying so I could help her. I didn't want her to explode and even though she was confusing me, this was the most she had opened up to me.

"I just… I have all these feelings."

Santana looked so scared and I felt like I should know what she was trying to tell me. I had a feeling this was about letting the real Santana out but I didn't want to say that and risk pushing her away. "I have lots of feelings too. You don't have to be scared, honey. I'm here to help you."

"I don't know what to do," she said, almost crying, "I can't…I just can't." She turned around and now her back was to me.

"Can't what?" I scooted closer to her and made her my little spoon. She tried to pull away for a second but then let me hold her. "Don't be scared, OK? I don't want you to explode. Just think about how next year we'll be in college and away from everyone at school. We can be whoever we want."

"I'm sorry, Britt...for everything. You didn't deserve to be treated like that."

"It's OK, Santana." Her voice cracked and I had to try really hard to cry too.

"I'm trying," she said whispered. She took my hand and kissed it softly.

"Good."

We didn't say anything after that and I just held her until we fell asleep.

###

New York was amazing. Everything moved so fast and the people always looked like they had important things to do. This was my first time in a a big city and I really, really liked it and I could totally see myself living here.

Rachel and I visited the schools we were thinking of applying to and all of them were awesome. Just being on a college campus was an adventure and I definitely knew I wanted to go to college. So far New York was at the top of my list. Maybe when I went to Chicago with Santana this summer, that city would be on top of my list.

I really wanted to be where Santana was but Sue's voice kept playing in my head. The voice that said I had to think about what I wanted and not live my life how someone else led theirs. Maybe I could convince Santana to come to New York with me if that's where I wanted to go.

Santana had a good time too. It was as if getting out of Lima turned her into a different person. A person who smiled all the time, was laid back and didn't have a worry in the world. This Santana jumped on the bed and had a pillow fight with the Glee girls. This Santana danced and sang through the streets of New York. This Santana held my hand in public and didn't get mad once. I really loved this Santana and I had hoped she'd come back to Lima.

She didn't.

As soon as the pilot said we were landing in Lima, Santana seemed to tense up and she stopped smiling.

Even though we didn't win the Glee Superbowl, everyone had a lot of fun and became even better friends. Finn, Puck, Quinn and Santana had really bonded with the rest of the club and it made me so happy. Even when we got back to Lima, they were still nice to the Glee club and the guys even invited them out to lunch later in the week.

We had landed 20 minutes ago and we were all at baggage claim getting our luggage. Some of the parents were here ready to take their kids home.

"OK!" Mr. Shue shouted, "Does everyone have a ride?"

"Yo Mike or Tina," Puck said, "Some Asian dude keeps waving over here. Who's dad is that?"

I looked around and spotted my dad waving at me. "That's my dad!"

"For real?" Puck was surprised. A lot of people were surprised when they met my dad. I didn't see Santana's mom so I asked her if she needed a ride.

"Oh yeah," Santana smiled, "I forgot to ask you earlier. My mom's at work and…"

I grabbed her hand and lead her to where my dad was, saying good bye to the Glee club as we left.

"Girls!" My dad met us halfway and took our suitcases. "How was the Big Apple?"

"Awesome!" I said, as we walked to the car.

"Yeah," Santana said with a smile. "Uh, Mr. Pierce, is it OK for you to give me a ride?"

My dad turned around and grinned. "Santana, of course it's OK! The more people to help find where I parked the car the better." He winked and turned back around, walking to the car. My dad was the best but had the worst memory ever.

I nudged Santana with my shoulder and smiled. "Do you wanna hang out at my place until your mom comes home?"

"That'd be perfect."

When we go back to my house, my mom and sister were really happy to see and Santana. My sister loved Santana and like, worshiped the ground she walked on. It was kinda cute, but annoying when I wanted Santana all to myself.

"Are you staying for dinner, Santana?" my mom asked.

"Uh, probably not," Santana said, "My mom just texted me and said she'd pick me up once she got off work."

"Well, maybe your mom would like to stay too," my mom said, "I'll call her."

I grabbed Santana's hand. "We'll be in my room."

"Can I come?" Andi asked.

I shook my head. "You're supposed to be helping mom. Besides, we're tired from the plane and are going to take a nap." Before my sister could whine, I dragged Santana up the stairs with me, each of us carrying our suitcase, Santana giggling the whole way.

We finally made it to my room and I dropped my suitcase on the floor and went to the bed and plopped facedown and closed my eyes. "I'm so plane lagged."

I heard Santana laugh and close the door. "Jet lagged, Britt."

"But we were on a plane, not a jet," I mumbled. I felt the bed dip and smiled when I felt and smelled Santana next to me. I loved the perfume she always wore.

"We have like two and a half hours before my mom shows up," Santana said. I felt her brush some of my hair from my face and I smiled bigger. "Did you have fun?"

I opened my eyes and saw her smiling, our faces close. "Yeah. I loved New York. I'm sad we didn't win but at least I got Lord Tubbington a T-shirt."

"He's going to love it," she said, softly, "Did you like those schools you and Rachel visited?"

"Yeah. I really liked them and I think it'd be cool to go there. I wish you'd have gone with us, maybe you could have liked it too."

Santana sighed. "I just couldn't stand to be around Berry for that long. So, umm, are you thinking of moving to New York?"

"Maybe."

"What about the catalog for the school I gave you? The dance program is like, top notch."

She sounded so hopeful that I wanted to tell her I loved the school she suggested, but after finding more information about it, I knew it wasn't for me. "I don't want to dance," I whispered.

Santana looked surprised and sat up. "What? Since when?"

I turned over and sat up too. "I don't know." I shrugged. "I guess since before we quit Cheerios. I was already thinking of quitting even before that canon thing."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She looked upset now and I wish New York Santana would come back. "And why didn't you say anything when I gave you that catalog?"

"I'm telling you now!" I said, "And just because I don't want to dance for a job, doesn't mean we can't go to the same school. And also, you haven't even told me what you want to do so don't get mad at me for not telling you."

She got out of bed and went to her suitcase. "Figures you'd go to New York with Berry since she's your new best friend. Or are you still trying to get in her pants?"

I rolled my eyes and groaned. Here we go again. I don't know what I said, but now she was mad at me. "Whatever, Santana. Just leave and I'll see you in a couple of days." I laid back down and closed my eyes. "I told you, you _can_ stay away from me," I said really softly.

I waited to hear the door open and close but instead I heard her let out a long breath. When I felt the bed dip, I opened my eyes and saw Santana laying down next to me.

"Marketing," she said.

"Huh?"

"That's what I'm thinking of studying," she said, "And Advertising."

"Like making commercials?"

"Yeah, stuff like that."

I turned my body to face her and she did the same. "That's awesome. I wanna be the next Oprah."

She smiled really big and it made her look so pretty. "Are you serious? That's fantastic."

"My show is really popular and I really liked making it so I figure I could, like, have my own show."

"I bet you can."

We stayed looking at each other for a bit before I spoke again. "Are you going to stay then?"

"Yeah, I'm going to stay." She scooted closer and put her arm across my waist, her head just below my chin. "Let's take a nap."

"OK." I was glad she didn't leave this time.

**-tbc-**


	10. Tom Hanks

A week later, the last day of school made me really happy. I couldn't wait to go to Chicago with Santana later in the summer and maybe get a tan. After our talk in my room, Santana and I had talked more and more about senior year and college. I still wasn't sure where I was going to end up but I hoped when I visited Chicago, one of the schools there would be perfect for me.

I was cleaning out my locker when Santana walked up to me. "Hey, Britt."

"Hi!" I turned to her and gave her a big smile. "Did you clean out your locker already?"

"Yup, earlier," she said, looking very nervous.

"What's up?"

"Umm…" she sighed, "Well, I was walking around the school and figured I'd say this now before I lose my nerve."

I put my last notebook in my bag and turned to look at her. "Are you uninviting me to Chicago?"

"Oh no! That's not it, I want you to come." I let out a relieved laugh. "It's…Are you and Mike still unofficial?"

"I guess," I shrugged, closing my locker, "I mean, we haven't talked about it but we haven't even made out in a while."

"OK, good. What about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"We've been really great lately and I've been trying and...are we…are we ever going to go back to being special friends?" Santana was looking down at her hands waiting for me to answer. "You know, like before?"

I had been thinking the same thing since we got back from New York. Things were different between us but that had happened before. I was afraid that if we went back to being special friends, things would get messed up again, since they always did. I did have one questions though. "Can you be honest and answer a question for me?"

Santana looked up, fear in her eyes, and nodded. "Su…sure."

I looked around to make sure no one was around. The hallway was empty. "You said we should practice, for boys. But, if you want to be good for your husband, shouldn't you be practicing with a boy? The plumbing is different so what works on me won't work on him."

Santana shut her eyes really tight and then opened them. "You're right. I just…I trust you and we're both hot so…uh..I don't know, Britt. All I know is that I wanted to be close to you and yeah, maybe that was just an excuse but, I mean, come on. We owe it to sex to be together. We're so good."

I couldn't argue with her there. "That's true. But, I still don't get how this is going to help you with your NFL husband."

She ran her hand through her hair, looking frustrated. But I knew she wasn't frustrated with me. "Forget him, OK? Just…forget I said anything. I'll just meet you in the choir room."

She turned to leave and when she took a step, I got the sudden urge to bring her back. When she took another step, I reached for her and turned her around. I was going to tell her to stay and wait for me but instead I got the urge to kiss her. I knew the hallway was still empty so I pulled her closer and kissed her. I thought she'd push me away since we were in public, but, just like in the locker room, she kissed me back and put her hands on my cheeks. It felt like we were kissing for a long time, but it was only a few seconds. She pulled back and I saw a small smile.

"Sorry," I said with an grin.

She laughed. "No, you're not." I shook my head. "What was that for?"

I really wanted to keep my promise to myself and stay away from Santana and just be regular friends with her but it was so hard to stay away. I missed her. I missed her kisses. I missed her holding me. I missed the way she made me feel. She was like my drug and I didn't know how to stop. "OK."

"OK?"

"We should be special friends again." I saw her smile really big and she looked so happy.

My brain was telling me I was making a big mistake. Again.

###

We didn't go back to being special friends right away. Mainly because we didn't know how to start up again. We had always been close but ever since we had that talk at prom, it felt like we were even closer.

Before, Santana would just start kissing my neck and touch me when she wanted to start something. Now, Santana seemed almost shy and I felt like she should make the first move since she was the one who brought it up. Honestly, I just didn't want to scare her away so I let her set the pace.

A week after school ended, we were sitting on her living room couch watching a movie. We were wearing shorts and T-shirts so we could be completely relaxed. Santana's mom was in Indiana for the weekend and I was staying over, keeping Santana company. "Poor Tom Hanks," I said, "He's all alone on that island."

"He's got Wilson."

"Santana, you know that's just a volleyball, right?"

"Yeah, I know," she said with a light laugh.

"I could never survive on an island by myself."

"I think you could, Britt. You're really smart and I think you could find food and build shelter really easy."

I turned to face her, dropping my arm on top of the couch. "Yeah, that I could do, but I'd get so lonely. I'd have to have someone there with me. "

"Who?" Santana turned and copied my position.

I didn't have to think long for a name. "You."

"You want to be stranded on an island with me?"

"Yeah. I mean, you'd totally kick ass on the island. Plus, you're the only person I don't get tired of being around."

Santana looked down and laughed. She always ducked her head when I embarrassed her so I couldn't see her blush. "I never get tired of you either Britt," she said looking up.

I reached for the remote and paused the movie. "Can I ask you something?" Santana nodded. "How come you haven't tried to kiss me yet?"

Santana turned back to face the TV and crossed her arms. "Uh, what do you mean?"

I moved closer to her. "I mean, that you wanted to be special friends again, but you haven't even tried to hold my hand. Do you not want to anymore? Cause it's OK if you don't, but just tell me so I'm not waiting."

Santana took a deep breath then turned to face me. "I want to," she whispered. I waited for her to say more but she didn't say anything. She turned her body and put her hand on my shoulders, brining me closer to her. "I want to."

My heart was beating really fast and my breathing was kinda fast too and the way Santana was looking at me was really turning me on. After what felt like forever, she finally kissed me. It was really soft at first, kind of like she was waiting for me to change my mind. I pressed closer to her and opened my mouth a bit more and so did she. After a few more seconds, Santana got more confident and I felt her tongue in my mouth. It was like heaven.

Santana fell back onto the couch and took me with her, never stopping our kissing. I was so dizzy with Santana's kiss that I had no idea how we ended up fully laid down on the couch with me on top. I settled on top of her and she wrapped her legs around my waist, her hands caressing my back. I pressed closer to her and she moaned. Although it had been a long time since we had done this, it didn't feel like it at all. It was like our bodies remembered.

I finally pulled back, both of us breathing really hard. "We could…do this on the island too."

I was glad when Santana laughed between breaths. "Our own sex island."

"Mmmm hmmm." I kissed her lower lip. "Everything is wrong," I said and kissed her lip again.

"What do you mean?" Santana tightened her legs around me.

I pushed up to see her better. "The lights are on and I'm on top. I know you like it dark so we can't see and you on top so you control things."

Santana pulled me back down and kissed me, hard, and it felt like she was going to swallow me whole. When she finally stopped, I felt so dizzy again, like I had just gotten off some sort of spinning ride.

"Maybe I like this better," she said, sounding really sexy with her deep voice, "Maybe I actually prefer you on top."

"Yeah?" I rocked my hips against her and she smiled. "Can I be on top now, since we're starting over?"

She lifted her hips against me. Her center grinding against mine making me groan softly. "How about you make the rules this time."

I was so turned on that it felt like my body was on fire. Everything I wanted was happening right now. Santana was talking to me, looking at me and letting me take control. I looked down at her and she was looking at me and not trying to hide. "We keep the lights on from time to time so we can see each other."

Santana swallowed and nodded. I knew she was scared but she was making an effort and trying, just like she said she would. She reached for the hem of my thin shirt and pulled it up, taking it off and leaving me in just my bra. "OK," she said.

"Talking is OK," I said and Santana nodded. I sat up and made her do the same so I could take off her shirt. "And no boys."

"Like threesomes?"

I reached behind her and unhooked her bra then threw it on the ground. I took in a deep breath and smiled watching Santana's boobs spring free. Or bounce free since they were a little bouncy from Santana's breathing. I bit my lip as I stared at her nipples. I couldn't wait to taste them. I heard Santana chuckle so I looked up at her. "Huh?"

"You said…" she reached behind me and took off my bra. "…no boys. I'm not thinking of brining any boys into this, if that's what you're worried about." She threw my bra on the floor, leaned in and sucked on my nipple.

"Ah!" I forgot what I was saying. All I could focus on was Santana's lips and tongue sucking on my breast. It was scary how much power she had over me and part of me really loved that and another part, the one that had shown up these past few months, hated it.

Santana gave me one last lick before leaning back with a satisfied look on her face. "No boys. Or girls."

I got my breathing under control and put my hands on Santana's shoulders to steady myself. "I mean no boyfriends. I don't want to do that again. I won't."

She sat up and scooted away from me so I sat straight too. She stayed quiet for a while and I almost wanted to laugh at the both of us sitting topless on her couch. I was about to reach for my shirt when she spoke.

"OK."

I turned my body to face her. "Really?" She nodded. "Wait, do you know what I mean though?" She nodded again. "If you get another boyfriend, we stop this. Or if I get one. I only want to have sex with one person."

"Wait, aren't you with Mike?" She crossed her arms then turned to face me, lifting leg on the couch. "Aren't you already breaking this rule?"

"We're not together," I said, "Not officially. It's like a standby thing."

Santana uncrossed her arms and got up and stood in front of me, still topless. "Make sure you put boy Chang on the no fly list. Permanently." She leaned down and put her hands on my shoulders and straddled me, her boobs right in my face. I smiled. "I'll follow this rule of yours. The boys at this school are idiots and I have no interest in wasting my time with any of them."

I took my eyes away from her boobs to looked her in the eyes. "Because they are idiots? Is that the only reason you don't want to be with any of those guys?" I lifted my hands and cupped both her breasts and squeezed them and her whole face changed to an expression of pleasure. I loved that look on her, especially since I was the one making it happen. I knew those boys being dumb had nothing to do with why she didn't want a boyfriend. It was simply that they were boys.

"So dumb," she breathed out. She squeezed my shoulders harder and began to slowly rock her hips.

"It's not because they're boys?" Before she could answer, I opened my mouth wide and closed it around her right breast. She moaned really loud.

"Britt…"

I wanted her to say she was a lesbian, so she could admit it to herself. She was already so different from a few months ago and I just knew she was so close to saying it out loud. My hope was that once she did, she would next admit that she wanted to be with me. Only me. It was a dumb idea, I know. She has basically told me a million times that I was just practice but I didn't want to believe that. Not with the way she touched me, took care of me and made me feel. There had to be more.

I let go of her breast and pushed her off me, making her stand up again.

"What's wrong?" She looked really surprised.

I stood up and took her hand. "This couch is…we need more room." I walked to her bedroom with Santana quickly walking behind me. When we got to her room I sat her down on the bed and stood in front of her. "What if those boys weren't dumb? Would you want to be with one of them?" I hooked my fingers on the waistband of my shorts and underwear and quickly took them off at the same time. I stood up straight, naked, in front of Santana and waited for her to answer.

"I…" Santana's eyes looked really wild and her breathing was a lot faster than it was downstairs. She was looking me up and down, like she was seeing my naked body for the first time. This was the first time I was practically on display for her. She was looking at me like she had discovered a buried treasure. I would totally just stand in front of her all day if she kept looking at me like that.

She reached for me and brought me closer and I tried not to jump on her when she brushed two fingers between me. I knew I was really wet already but when I saw it on Santana's fingers, I got even wetter. She leaned forward and ran her tongue between my slit and I swear I almost came right then. She looked up at me then put her wet fingers in her mouth and licked them.

"Oh God," I moaned.

"I don't want to be with any of those boys," she said as she stood up, "All I know is that, right now, I want to be with you."

That was all I was going to get from her today and that was totally fine. I quickly pulled down her shorts and underwear, then I did pounce on her just like I wanted. This was definitely progress.

###

The first month of summer vacation was perfect. Santana and I hung out a lot and we were getting along great. Not having to worry about school and the rules of popularity made Santana a lot happier. She was more relaxed and happier and it just made me wish we were out of high school already.

We went to the pool, the movies, and even hung out with the Glee club a few times. Quinn had hung out with us a lot too and even she seemed more relaxed. High school just made everyone crazy.

We were leaving for Chicago the next day so I was sleeping over her house. Santana and her mom were going to spend six weeks there. Santana's mom was going to work in the Chicago office or something. I'm not sure what Santana's mom did except that it had something to do with a bank. She wore fancy business suits all the time and had an expensive briefcase so I figured she had an important job.

I tried to convince my parents to let me stay six weeks too but they said no. They said I could stay five days. Five days wasn't enough, not when I wouldn't see Santana for six weeks. I wasn't sure how I was going to last six weeks without her. Six weeks without her sweet lady kisses. Six weeks without her head between my legs and her tongue inside me, which was happening this very moment.

"Oh fuck!" I arched my back and gripped the sheets. Santana had gotten so good at this and sometimes she made me cum in only a few minutes. Like right now, she had only been down there for a short while, but I was already feeling that tight feeling in my abdomen as she thrust her tongue inside me. Of course, her pumping two fingers in and out of me really fast before she went down on me got me started. About an hour after we had gotten to her room, we had taken off our clothes and started making out. That naked make out session had turned into sexy times really fast.

"Mmmmm," she hummed and the vibration made me moan really loud. "Britt." She lifted her head to look at me and I opened my eyes and saw her mouth and chin glistening, that was a calendar word. It was so hot. "Britt, you have to be quiet, OK? You'll wake up my mom."

"Glisten," I breathed.

"What?"

I shook my head. I needed her mouth back on me, like right now. "Sorry. I'll be quiet. Anyway, she said she took sleeping pills."

"Still," she said with a smile, "I know how loud you can get."

I was loud sometimes but it was Santana's fault. I tried to control my breathing but nothing was working, and it got even faster when I saw Santana lick her lips, tasting me. I reached down and put my hand on top of her head and pushed her back down. I heard her giggle before she continued what she was doing. I leaned back on the bed and lost myself in how she made me feel.

I loved her.

I was in love with her and wanted to be with only her. When I was with her, it was like I was living in a magical world where unicorns existed and everything was made of candy.

"Oh…ohhh…San…." I still had my hands on her head. I pushed her down against me while I thrusted against her. I found out she really like that. She moaned again.

She still hadn't admitted she was gay. Not to me or herself. I had even heard her tell her mom about some of the cute boys she saw at the mall. I had just rolled my eyes and stayed quiet. While she was way more comfortable having sex with me, the fear that anyone would think her anything but straight was still there.

I jerked forward when she sucked my clit really hard and came saying her name. I fell back against the bed, still trembling, and waited for my heavy breathing to slow down. Santana continued licking me for a bit longer before she kissed my body as she came back up to face me.

"Did you like that, Britt-Britt?" She settled on top of me and kissed my neck.

I didn't answer right away because I couldn't breath. "Disoriented," I breathed, "Calendar word."

"I take that as a yes, then," Santana said. She kissed my neck then my cheek and finally found my mouth. I had recovered enough to kiss her.

"Yes," I giggled when I pulled back, "Your big lips are perfect for eating me out."

She laughed again and sucked on my lower lip. "It's easy when you taste so good."

"Yeah?" She had never said that before. I mean, seriously, how can she still not admit she was a lesbian when she said things like that?

"So good." She straddled my thigh and began to slowly grind against it. I loved when she did that. Actually, I loved when she did anything.

"You like sticking your tongue inside me?" I wanted to see how far I could take this and see how many lesbian things I could get her to admit.

She picked up her pace and I felt her wetness, there was a lot, on my thigh. I wrapped my arms around her and put my hands on her ass, guiding her thrusts. "Ye…yes," she moaned.

I squeezed her ass hard. "Say it."

She ground against me faster and her eyes were closed and her mouth open. She looked so beautiful. "I…fuck…I like stick…sticking my tongue inside you." She moaned loud again and I smiled.

I looked down at her breasts that were swinging back and forth from her thrusts and I really wanted to put one in my mouth but I didn't want to interrupt Santana's movements. I knew she was close.

"What else do you like, baby?" I knew she was so far gone, she wouldn't notice my calling her that. I did that sometimes, call her baby when she was just about to cum. I don't know if she ever heard me but I like to think she did and that she liked it.

She opened her eyes and they were so dark and intense that it took my breath away. "Be…being inside you…when…my fingers….when you cum around them…."

Santana was so lost in her pleasure, I wasn't sure if she knew what she was admitting. She kept her eyes on me, never looking away as she picked up speed. She was moaning and grunting pretty loudly. I was so glad I made the rule to have a light on so I could see this. The lamp on the night stand was the perfect lighting. "You're so close, baby," I told her, again squeezing her ass cheeks tighter, "Let me see you."

She gave a few more thrusts and then came so hard she couldn't even scream. She shut her eyes really tight and stopped breathing. It was then I felt this gush of warmth on my thigh then she collapsed on top of me.

I held her while she came down, and I almost told her I loved her. I really wanted to but I didn't want the first time I said it to be when she has half out of it. After a moment, I finally spoke. "That was beautiful, sweetie."

She kept her face buried in my neck, breathing in and out. "Did….did I…."

"What?"

She lifted her face then looked down between our bodies at my thigh that looked like someone had thrown a cup of water on it.

"Oh God," she said, looking embarrassed, "Shit, I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? Why?" She rolled off of me buried her face in the pillow, face down. "Santana, what? Why are you sorry?"

"Mmmmmmphh."

I was so confused. "I can't understand you."

She lifted her head enough to talk. "I don't…I don't know why that happened. Can we just forget it?"

"You want to forget we had sex?" Ever since that day we were watching that Tom Hanks movie, Santana hadn't tried to forget our sexy times. Sometimes she'd even bring up some of the stuff we did to tease me so I wasn't sure why she wanted to forget again. I felt that tightness in my chest and that familiar feeling of sadness. I pouted. "I thought you weren't doing that anymore?"

She finally looked at me, and I guess I must have looked really upset because she quickly sat up and shook her head. "No, I mean…not all of it, just this last part," she said looking down at me.

"Your part?" She nodded. "But that was the best part." She looked down at my thigh the quickly looked away. It was still wet and I finally understood what was wrong. "Are you embarrassed you, like exploded, on my leg?"

She groaned. "Oh God!" She shook her head. "Don't talk about it. I practically peed on your leg."

I smiled that started giggling. "Santana. That's not pee, that's…" She put her hand on my mouth to stop me from talking.

"Stop." She looked so serious and it just made me want to giggle more.

I pushed her hand away. "Honey, don't be embarrassed. That was way hot and totally normal. When I was doing my lady sex research, I read about this and it's fine. It happens a lot."

"You haven't done it," she whined.

I sat up and shrugged. "Not yet." I ran my hand down my thigh. "Most of it dripped to the sheet, anyway."

Santana fell back on the bed and covered her face with her hands. "This isn't happening. We're never having sex again."

I rolled my eyes because she was totally lying. I moved to lie on top of her, and she removed her hands but turned her head and looked out the window. "Yes we are," I said, "We're going to keep having sex because with these new rules, our sexy times are getting more awesome." I saw her try not to smile and it made me smile. "What happened was so hot and I really, really liked how it felt." I spread her legs with my hips and settled between them. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, still looking out the window. I leaned close to her ear and whispered. "If we stop having sex, then you can't suck and lick my…pussy anymore."

She groaned and turned her head to look at me. "You're quite persuasive."

"Calendar word," I said.

"You and that calendar," she laughed and I knew she was getting over her embarrassment.

"What do you prefer? Pussy or vagina?" I asked, "I like pussy better, I think."

She laughed again. "It's the same thing, Britt."

"No, I mean, like, let's say you're thinking about me going down on you," I explain, "In your mind, are you thinking, 'I can't wait for Brittany to eat my pussy' or do you think, 'I can't wait for Brittany to eat my vagina'?

"You think that's what I think about?" she teased.

I wiggled my eyebrows and nodded. A few months ago, we would never be talking like this and practically cuddling in bed. If this had been last year, Santana would already have been asleep or gone. Progress. I was sure that she would come out by graduation and that she'd want to be with me. I just felt it in my gut.

"OK, fine," she huffed, "Maybe I think about that from time to time."

"All the time," I giggled, "But I bet you think more about _you_ going down on _me_."

She bit her lip and rolled her eyes. "No comment."

I leaned down and kissed her. I meant it to be a short kiss, but when she kissed me back it turned passionate really quick. "So tell me?" I breathed against her lips. "Pussy or vagina?"

She moved her hand between our bodies and began to massage my…

"Pussy," she said, "I think about eating your pussy."

I closed my eyes and moaned. We were going to be so tired for our flight tomorrow.

###

Chicago was so amazing. Well, the city was and I could totally see myself living here. I wasn't a fan of the suburbs because everything looked the same. Besides, I already lived in a suburb and I didn't want to live in another one. I wanted to live in a city.

The flight was pretty short and we were there by noon. Santana's Uncle Julio picked us up and he was really nice to me. He had dark skin like Santana and had a black and white beard. We were going to stay with him since he had a big house and he had recently gotten a divorce. His kids were already grown up so he was all alone.

The house was really a building, I think. It had three floors and each floor was its own apartment. "This is so cool," I said when we got there.

"It is, but way too big for just me now," Julio said, "I'm thinking of renting out the bottom two floors."

"That's a wise investment, Julio," Maribel said. Santana's mom had insisted I call her by her first name since I met her, but it felt too weird. I only did it when I really had to get her attention.

"Brittany and I will stay on the first floor," Santana said.

"I guess I'll take the second," Maribel said, "But, Santana, I fully expect you to stay with me once Brittany goes back to Lima."

Santana sighed. "Fine."

"Well," Julio said, "You ladies settle in and I'll come by in half an hour and take you out for a late lunch."

We each went to our own floors and I was glad to finally be alone with Santana. She opened the door to the apartment and we stepped inside. It was bigger than I thought and furnished just like those pictures in an IKEA catalogue. "Wow, it's like our own apartment."

"Pretty cool, right?" Santana walked in to the living room and dropped her bag by the black leather couch, "Mom and I always stay here when we visit but this is the first time I've stayed on the first floor." She pointed to her left down a narrow hallway. "There are two bedrooms through there and one bathroom. The kitchen is right before the hallway."

I came in and closed he door, leaving my suitcase near the door. "Do we each get our own bedroom?"

She pouted. "Do you want your own bedroom?"

I smiled and walked to her, wrapping my arms around her waist. "We've never shared a room for five nights. What if you get tired of me?"

She smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck, her boots making her just as tall as me. "I could never get tired of you." She leaned in and gave me a quick kiss.

My heart started beating really fast and my whole body felt really warm and tingly. Only Santana could make me feel like this. If someone had seen us just now they would think we were dating and a couple super in love. Except, the only person who I knew was in love, was me. I knew Santana loved me but I wasn't sure if she was in love with me. Ever since that Tom Hanks night we've been acting like a couple. At least that's what it seems like to me. I mean, sure, we were only all cuddly in secret, but still.

I kissed her back. "It's like we're living together." I saw panic in her eyes for a second before she let out a soft laugh. "Thanks for bringing me."

"I told you I would," she said, "I just wish you could stay longer."

It was my turn to pout. "Me too. I'm going to miss you. The rest of the summer is going to suck without you."

She took a deep breath. "Yeah."

I tightened my grip on her. "I really like you, Santana."

"I should hope so," she said with a soft laugh.

I wanted to tell her how I felt but I was afraid that would make her lose all the progress she had made. At the same time, I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this to myself. I was horrible at keeping secrets. "I really like spending time with you. It doesn't matter what we do, just being with you is awesome."

She opened her mouth the close it. I saw that panic in her eyes again but she closed her eyes before I could get a real good look. She kept them closed then leaned in and kissed me again, but this time, it was more than a soft peck. She moved her left hand to the back of my head and deepened the kiss. I was in that unicorn, candy world again. When she pulled away, I kept my eyes closed.

"We should, umm," she said, "We should get ready for lunch."

I opened my eyes and saw her give me a small smile. I smiled back and nodded. I told her I needed to use the bathroom and left. Once I was in there I splashed cold water on my face to help me wake up from this hazy unicorn world. I tried not to think about how she didn't tell me she liked me or that she liked spending time with me too. Maybe she was still scared. I was glad I hadn't told her what I really wanted to say. It wasn't time.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: I mean to say this last chapter but most of the schools mentioned in this story are fake. Thank you to everyone following and reviewing. Once high school is over, we'll see what's going on in Santana's head.**


	11. Dinner Guest

By the end of our first day, I was exhausted. Julio took us to get some deep dish pizza, which was beyond delicious, then we walked around the city. There were so many tall buildings and a river running right through them. I had never seen anything so amazing. They even had boat taxies! I could totally see myself living here. We walked for hours and Julio even took us on a speed boat architecture tour, then out to dinner.

When we got back to the house building, everyone went to their own floor.

"It's so early," I said falling on to the couch, "But I'm so tired. We did a lot."

Santana laughed as she locked the door. "We did. Did you have fun?"

"Yes!"

Santana took of her jacket threw it on a nearby chair before coming to the couch and sitting next to me. "It's a great city, right? Better than New York?"

"I really like it," I said, "I think it's tied with New York."

"Well, I do have four more days to change your mind." Santana gave me a kiss on the cheek and got up again. "Come on, we still haven't unpacked."

I followed Santana to the bigger bedroom and started to unpack when she stopped me.

"You should put your stuff in the other bedroom," she said, "You know, just in case my mom or uncle come in here."

"Oh, right." She made sense but it kind of hurt a little. This was still a secret and no one was supposed to know. I took my suitcase to the bedroom down the hall and unpacked. I hung and folded my clothes and by the time I was done, I felt like taking a shower. I grabbed my things and headed to the bathroom after telling Santana what my plan was.

I finished my shower, and felt a million times better. I heard voices in the living room and realized that Maribel was here. With a towel wrapped around myself I ran into my bedroom and got dressed for bed. I kept yawning the whole time and my eyes felt so heavy. I pressed my ear to the door and heard Maribel and Santana talking. Maribel wanted Santana and me to go with her to visit the rest of the family. Santana kept saying how she had planned on taking me sightseeing all day tomorrow. I yawned again.

I went to the bed, pulled back the covers and got in. I didn't want to interrupt them so I figured I'd just wait for them to finish by taking a quick nap. I tuned off the lamp and closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, it was really dark and I felt something heavy on my chest. It was Santana. She was half on top of me, sound asleep. I could smell her hair and she had also taken a shower before bed. I smiled and hugged her closer to me and fell back asleep.

Next time I woke up, the room was brighter. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was 6:30. Santana was hugging me from behind, one hand on my boob, and her face buried in my hair. We had slept in the same bed a lot this summer and I discovered Santana was a sleep cuddler. I'd wake up to her always hugging me or practically on top of me. Always. I loved it and had gotten used to it pretty quickly. I was going to miss this too.

I untangled myself from her and went to the bathroom to wash up. I wasn't sleepy anymore. Thirty minutes later, Santana found me in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Why do you always get up so early?" Santana yawned and rubbed her eyes. She looked like an adorable zombie as she took a seat behind the kitchen counter that faced the stove. "You're on vacation, Britt."

I giggled and shook my head. "You know I can't wait to eat breakfast. It's the best!" I fixed her a plate and gave her a big mug filled with coffee. We went to sit at the table and it really felt like we were grown ups and living in our own place. I wondered if this is what everyday would be like if I came to live in Chicago. That thought made Chicago way better than New York. "You came to sleep with me," I said.

"What?" Santana finished the last of her coffee and got up to get more.

"I fell asleep in my room and I woke up and you were there." I was smiling really big. "You're a secret cuddler."

"Uh no, I'm not." She came back to the table, coffee cup full, "I didn't want you to be scared in a strange place. This place can get a bit creepy at night."

She was lying. I could tell because she wouldn't look at me and kept playing with her hands. "OK. Well, thanks."

She drank most of her coffee before she spoke again. "So anyway, today we have a busy day." She finally looked up at me with a small smile. "I managed to convince my mom that you spending a day with my boring family was a waste of your vacation. So, today, we are going back into the city and doing more exploring and I was thinking we could visit the college campuses so you can check those out."

"That sounds awesome! Hey, if I do come here for college, do you think we could live here? Your Uncle did say he's renting it out."

I saw her stop herself from grinning. She loved that idea. "That would be cool, but Britt, we still have like over a year before we start college."

I shrugged. "So, maybe he can hold it for us."

"Let's see if we actually get in to these schools first," Santana said, "I mean, we could get rejected and end up in New York or even L.A."

"Wait, I thought you were only applying to schools here?"

She leaned back and smiled. "We'll, you know, I should have a back up plan just in case. And maybe New York isn't that bad, even with the possibility of Rachel Berry being there."

I felt so happy that I thought I was going to burst. I got up and went to her. I leaned down and kissed her. "Awesome."

She got up and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me back. "It's always good to have a backup plan." She kissed me again. "Listen, we only have four days together before you leave." Another kiss. "And I think we should have as much sex as possible before you go back."

I felt myself falling into that unicorn world again and just nodded. She did have a point. We only had four days left together before we'd be separated for six weeks. The reality of not seeing Santana for so long made my chest feel really tight. I kissed her back, harder and hooked my hands behind her thighs, lifting her. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I carried her to my room.

###

The campuses were really pretty and it looked like those old times college campuses I sometimes saw in movies. They looked pretty but neither offered many classes on TV, film or media. I couldn't learn how to be the next Oprah without those classes.

Both schools were perfect for Santana though. They both had super awesome marketing programs and she would totally be able to learn how to be the queen of commercials. She needed to come to Chicago. I didn't.

When she asked me what I thought about the schools I told her I really liked them. I didn't want to think about possibly needing to go to New York or L.A. for four years and be away from her.

The rest of the day she took me everywhere around the city. We went to the Bruce Willis Tower, the museum, and we got to go on the train. This city was pretty cool and I really liked how it was less hectic than New York.

Our last stop for the day was the giant jelly bean.

"This is not what I thought it would be," I said, a little disappointed I couldn't take a bite out of the sculpture, "It's still pretty cool but…"

Santa laughed and reached into her purse. "Here." I turned to her and she was handing me a bag of jelly beans. "I knew you'd want these."

I giggled and grabbed the bag. "Perfect." I opened the bag and popped a few in my mouth then offered some to Santana. She took a few and ate them. "This is perfect."

"Are you having fun, Britt?"

"Yeah." I ate another few jelly beans then, without thinking, I kissed her on the lips. It was just a quick kiss, no tongue or anything. When I realized I had kissed her in public, I jumped away from her. "Oh shit, sorry."

Santana's eyes were really wide and she looked around at the people around us. No one was paying attention to us but Santana looked frantic. "We should go," she said, "There's not much to this bean anyway. There's a fountain near by with people's faces on it, it's cool. Let's go see it."

She started walking away from me and I groaned. I messed up.

###

Once we got to the fountain Santana was fine. It was as if nothing had happened at the jelly bean. I had just gotten so caught up in being with Santana that I forgot the rules. It was easy to forget though. We had spent weeks acting like a couple that I just slipped.

For dinner she took me to this really cool old burger place where we just ate and played some pool. We got home a little after nine and we both collapsed on the couch. We had been out for 11 hours and we didn't realize how tired we were until we go home.

"Tomorrow we rest in the morning," Santana said, yawning, "We need to hit up some nightlife."

I forced myself to get up from the couch. "Morning rest sounds great. Walking all over the city is exhausting. I'm going to go change into my PJs."

I went into my room and changed then went to the bathroom to wash up. When I was done I went back to my room and laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.

"What are you doing?"

I opened my eyes to see Santana standing by the doorway, already dressed for bed. "I'm so sleepy."

She walked to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I whined, letting her take me across the hall. She took me to her room, the bigger one, and had me lay down on the bed. "I was already doing this in the other room."

She covered me up and left the room to lock up and turn off the lights. When she came back she laid next to me and immediately cuddled against me. "This bed is more comfortable."

It was. This bed was bigger and the mattress was way more comfy. I turned to my side, making Santana my little spoon. I was almost asleep when I heard her speak.

"I'm still trying," she said softly.

"Hmm?"

"Remember when I told you I was trying?" She took my hand and played with my fingers.

"I remember."

"I'm still trying," she repeated, "You didn't do anything wrong at the jelly bean. I just…there were so many people and…I'm not ready for that kind of public announcement."

I let out a breath and hugged her tighter. She was still trying and I understood that but I was getting tired of waiting. I've been waiting for years. I didn't want to tell her that it made me sad that she acted one way with me in private and another in public.

Today at the fountain just reminded me of all those times she pretended like we were just regular friends and nothing more. I knew that I had to be careful. I didn't want to keep getting my heart broken.

"I know," I agreed, sadly.

###

Santana had tried really hard to convince her mom that I shouldn't waste my vacation hanging out with her family. Apparently, there was some sort of family dinner with Santana's aunts, uncles, cousins and her grandmother. Maribel told Santana that we had to at least have dinner then we could leave.

I actually wanted to meet Santana's family but it seemed she didn't want me to met them. Maybe she was afraid I'd embarrass her or that I'd say something really dumb. I just had be careful not too talk too much at dinner.

We had slept in and then gone to a waffle house near by for breakfast. Julio's house building was pretty close to the city so we had a lot of restaurants to choose from but Santana knew I loved waffles. After breakfast she took me sightseeing again for a bit before we went back home.

"I'm sorry about this Britt." Santana and I had just finished getting ready for dinner and were waiting for her mom and uncle to come get us.

"It's OK," I shrugged, "I'm actually looking forward to meeting them. Your mom and uncle are super cool so I bet the rest of your family is also."

"They…some of my cousins are really great. Some, not so much. My Uncle Julio is awesome, he's my favorite. You'll probably meet my two aunts and my other uncle. They're great but not as awesome as Uncle Julio."

"What about you grandma?"

"She's great," Santana said with a smile, "She was a big part of my life growing up. I'm her favorite."

"Of course you are," I said with a laugh.

There was a knock at the door and Santana grabbed my hand. "Listen, you…we should be careful at the dinner. We can't…I mean…"

"I know." I gave her a small smile. What we had together didn't exist when others were around and by the worried look on her face, that wasn't going to change any time soon. "Don't worry."

###

I really liked watching Santana interact with her family. I had only ever seen her with her mom but now she was surrounded by the rest of her family and she seemed to be the center of attention. Everyone loved her and I saw why she wanted to come live here. We were all in the living room of Santana's grandmother's house waiting for dinner to be ready.

"How do you like Chicago?"

I looked away from Santana and turned my attention back to Gloria, Santana's cousin who was a year older. "Oh, good. I mean, it's awesome."

Gloria looked a little like Santana except she was taller and her skin was lighter. "Good. So, Brittany. It's nice to meet that girl in all those pictures Santana has on her Facebook and Instagram."

"I've seen some picture so you too," I said.

"I'm very photogenic," Gloria said with a wink. She was definitely related to Santana. "Santana never really talks about Lima or her friends. Trying to get her to talk about her life is a pain. If it wasn't for my aunt, no one would know what Santana was up to. You guys must be really close for you to hang out with the whole family for a week."

Gloria was smiling at me kinda of weird. I frowned. I always talked about Santana when I was with my family. She was my best friend and you are supposed to talk about your close friends, right? At least a mention or something. From what Gloria was saying no one knew about me and all those confused looks I got from some of the family made sense.

"I, uh, I came cause I wanted to check out some of the colleges." I felt like I needed to explain. I didn't want Gloria to think anything was going on with me and Santana. "When she told me she was coming here, I tagged along. You know, so I didn't come by myself."

Gloria nodded. "Makes sense. So tell me, what's Santana really up to in Lima? My aunt only talks about her like a proud mom. I want the real story."

I swallowed and looked behind Gloria to find Santana, but she was gone. "Like what? I'm not a gossip."

"No, no," Gloria laughed, "I'm not trying to get gossip, though if you have any, I'm all ears. Like I said, Santana never talks about her life in Lima so I just want to make sure she's OK. She and I are friends too and she can be really closed off…"

"Tell me about it," I mumbled.

Gloria smiled, she had heard me. "…and she can be very stubborn when in comes to sharing her feelings. You know?"

"I…" Gloria was talking to me like we both knew a secret but I didn't know what it was. Unless she knew about Santana and me. That thought made me panic. I didn't want Santana to think I had told Gloria anything. "She's doing fine. You know, regular high school stuff."

I was glad when Santana suddenly appeared next to me. "What are you two talking about?"

Gloria let out a loud sigh, probably upset that her chance to get information was gone. "Just getting to know your friend Brittany here," Gloria said.

"Uh, yeah," I said, "Your cousin is pretty cool."

Santana crossed her arms and pressed her lips, looking at her cousin with narrow eyes. "Don't let her annoy you, Britt. She has a knack for it."

"Whatever _prima_," Gloria said, "You know you love me."

"Only because it's required since we're family," Santana said.

I could tell right away they were teasing each other and I smiled. Maybe Gloria really was just worried about Santana and not trying to gossip.

Maribel came into the room and announced dinner was ready. Now I was nervous. We went to the big dinning room and everyone took their seats, mine between Santana and Maribel. I knew Santana's family had money, but with her uncle owning that building, her grandmother having this giant house with like five bedrooms and seeing the designer clothes her family was wearing, I realized just how rich Santana's family really was.

Dinner was going great and I was glad for Santana, Maribel and even Gloria for including me in the conversation since most of the family was talking to each other. There were 16 people sitting at the giant table and apparently there were many who couldn't make it toady. It was halfway through dinner that the attention turned to me.

"Brittany," Santana's grandmother, who's name I found out was Alma, said, "Are you liking Chicago?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," she said, "It's a great city. It was nice of your parents to let you come with Santana and Maribel."

This lady was kind of scary. When I first got here she greeted me and was super nice but now it felt like she was interrogating me. Calendar word. "Yes ma'am." That seemed all I could say.

Gloria got my attention and winked at me and mouthed, "Relax".

I took a breath and continued talking. "I came to see some colleges and Marib…uh, Mrs. Lopez, was really cool with letting me tag along."

I quickly glanced at Santana and she hand all her attention on her plate of chicken. I'd hope she help me out but she wasn't doing anything.

"Fantastic," Alma said, "It's good that your'e thinking about your future. I hope you liked the schools." I just nodded and smiled. "And your boyfriend, what school is he going to?"

I heard Santana drop her fork and Gloria giggle softly.

Santana finally spoke "Abuela, please don't. Brittany isn't here so we can pry into her life. She's a guest."

"Santana is right, Alma," Maribel said, "She's not one of your grandkids."

"What?" Alma asked, looking innocent, "I'm just trying to get to know Santana's friend better."

"It's OK," I said with a shaky laugh, "Umm, I'm not sure. He's still thinking." OK, so technically I didn't have a boyfriend, but I did have a standby boyfriend so that counted. Right?

"Boyfriend, really?" Gloria smirked, "Interesting. What's his name?"

"Mike. He plays football."

Santana crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. I smiled at the older lady and she smiled back.

"Good for you for having a strong man," Alma said, "Being fit and athletic is important."

I thought that was a weird thing to say. I mean, Mike being fit was nice but I didn't understand what that had to do with anything. I was athletic too.

I heard Santana groan and turn to one of her younger cousins sitting further down the table. "So, Diego, I heard you got suspended from school. What's that about?"

One of Santana's aunts did not look happy with that question. I guessed that was Diego's mom. Luckily, everyone lost interest in me and started talking about poor Diego's suspension.

###

After dinner, we all went back to the living room to hang out. I had gotten to talk to a couple of more of Santana's cousins and they all seemed really cool. The only one I didn't like was the oldest, Oscar, who I had somehow gotten stuck talking to about schools.

"Any other colleges you are applying to?" He was tall, like Finn and had dark hair and was about 25. He looked like he could be a politician. I was glad Gloria was next to me since Santana was helping her grandmother with something.

"New York and L.A," I said, "ULA, USC, NYU, Colombia or MANYU. Man, that's a lot of letters."

"I'm going to UCLA this fall!" Gloria said, "If you end up in L.A. next year, let me know. We can hang out."

"What is MANYU?" Oscar asked, confused, "I've never heard of that school."

"Oh, it's an arts and media college," I said, "Media Arts New York University. I want to study TV stuff and they're really good."

"Word of advice," Oscar said, "Go to a real college. You'll get further."

"It is a real college, idiot," Gloria groaned, "Don't be a snob."

"So, umm," I said, trying to keep the peace, "I heard there are a bunch of other family members missing."

"Some," Gloria said, "Most are spread across the country. Though, I am surprised Mario isn't here. I thought he'd come."

Oscar rolled his eyes. "He's not showing his face around here agian, I bet. Apparently he decided to be gay in his last year of college. Uncle Al caught him kissing some dude. Gross. Grandma was pissed."

I took a deep breath trying calm my heartbeat that was going really fast. Oscar had this disgusted tone in his voice that made me sad, angry and scared all at once.

Gloria rolled her eyes and gave him a dirty look. "You don't decide to be gay. God, you're such an asshole. No wonder he wouldn't return my calls. He probably thinks I'm siding with you narrow minded jerks."

"He's embarrassing the family." Oscar looked mad now. "Everyone thinks so. Plus he's going to ruin my future political chances. Imagine the backlash when they find out I have a male cousin who sleeps with men. Not to mention how disgusting it is."

Gloria laughed really loud. "Now I remember why I hardly talk to you." She turned to me and grabbed my arm. "Come on Brittany, let's got to talk to Diego. He's way cooler than this jerk."

She dragged me away before I could say anything. If most of Santana's family was like Oscar, then I understood why Santana was so paranoid about keeping what we were doing a secret.

**-tbc-**

* * *

Thanks for all the follows and reviews. ;-)


	12. Summer's End

I was glad to get back to the house building and away from Oscar and Santana's grandmother. I had overheard her talking about Mario and what a disgrace he was to one of Santana's aunts who agreed. I was quiet the whole way home and even when I was inside and just with Santana, I still didn't say anything.

I knew there were people out there….like that, but I had never meet any. Sure, McKinley had some jerks but I had never heard them be as homophobic as some of Santana's family.

I had a gay uncle and all my family loved him and his husband. I guess I thought every family was like mine.

I started to panic that Santana's family would keep her from coming out and that she would go back to Old Santana after these six weeks. The Old Santana who would walk away or get mad when things got too intense between us.

"What's wrong Britt?"

"Nothing." I went to my room and stared undressing. I managed to get down to my underwear and bra before Santana came in.

"Bullshit," Santana said. I turned to her and actually smiled a little when I caught her checking me out. "Did one of my cousins upset you? Was it Gloria?"

I shook my head. "No, she was actually really awesome. She was my favorite. And Diego."

Santana came closer to me and put her hands on my bare waist. "Why were you so quiet then?"

She still had her heels on and was now a little taller than me. I reached behind her and unzipped her dress then pulled it down, leaving her in her underwear and bra too, her heels still on. I took her face in my hands and kissed her. After what I heard at that dinner I wanted to show Santana that it was OK to be who she was. I wanted to show her that being with a girl was perfectly normal, no matter what her family said.

She stuck her tongue in my mouth and I moaned. She had her hands around my waist, pulling me really close to her and her warm skin against mine felt amazing. She licked my bottom lip then pulled back, breathing hard. "Tell me what happened?"

"Do you like kissing me?" I had my hands on her shoulders, caressing them.

"Yes."

"Do you like my body?"

"Britt…"

"Do you?"

Santana looked down at me then up again. "Yes."

"Do you like me?"

She let out a soft laugh then smiled. "Britt, you know I do. You're the only person I truly like."

"No, I mean….do you _like_ me, like me."

Santana gently pushed me away from her and stepped back. "Brittany, what's going on? What's with all these questions?"

I sighed and went to the drawer to get a shirt and shorts. I quickly put them on then sat on the bed. "Some of your family were talking about your gay cousin, Mario. I overheard some things about how gross he is and how he's a disgrace to the family. Oscar even said…"

Santana kicked off her heels and sat down next to me, still wearing just her bra and underwear. "Oscar is an asshole. And Mario…he's always been the troublemaker in the family and is always trying to shake things up. Alana, you meet her right?." I nodded. "Well, she said Mario set it up so he would get caught. He plays games like that."

"You make it sound like he's just dating guys to piss off your family." Santana just shrugged. "Really? You think him being gay is just some game he's playing?"

Santana sighed and started walking to her room. "Who knows with him," she said, now across the hall in her room. I got up and followed her and saw her putting on shorts and a tank top. "Look Brittany, I'd rather not talk about my family, OK?"

"Is that what you're doing with me?" I stood by the doorway watching her. She turned her back to me and ran her hands through her hair, pulling it up in a messy ponytail. "Are you trying to piss off your family by having sex with me?"

She turned around to face me, her arms crossed. "Don't be silly. No one knows about us, so how could this be about my family?"

"Then why are you sleeping with me? Are we a game?" I didn't expect to ask her this again but I had to make sure this wasn't about getting back at her family for something. I wanted to know. "Santana?"

"We had this conversation already." Santana uncrossed her arms and went to pull back the covers of the bed. "Look, this has nothing to do with my family and whatever is going on with Mario, has nothing to do with us."

I felt so frustrated. I knew I was picking a fight but I just wanted her to tell me the real reason she was sleeping with me. "What is going on with us? Like you said, we've been really good and we're always together. Sometimes it feels like we're a coup…""

"Look, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, OK? We only have a couple of more days together and I don't want to fight about my family. Tomorrow I'll take you to Navy Pier, you'll love it."

She went to the bathroom and I heard the water running. I knew this conversation was over and I just shook my head and groaned. I left the doorway and went to the kitchen sink to wash up. After I finished, I got into the bed in my room and turned off the lights. I left the door open a little and saw the light to Santana's room still on.

"Britt!" Santana called out.

"What?"

"What's taking so long? Come to bed," she shouted.

Part of me wanted to get up and join her but another part wanted to stay where I was and just have some space. She still couldn't admit why she was having sex with me. I understood why she wanted to keep it a secret from her family but I didn't understand why she couldn't tell me. That's what really bothered me the most. I just wanted her to at least admit she was having sex with me because she liked me, and not like a friend. If she could just tell me, then I would be sure this was real to her. If she could just tell me, then maybe her family wouldn't be able to mess up her progress.

"I am in bed," I shouted back, "I'm going to sleep here tonight. I'm too tired to move."

She didn't respond and I saw her light go out. I finally heard her say "OK". I snuggled into the sheets and closed my eyes but I wasn't sleepy. About 10 minutes later, I heard the door open and I felt Santana get in bed with me. I was still upset but I couldn't stay away from her when she was this close. I turned to face her and made her my little spoon, like usual.

"Good night Britt," she whispered.

"Good night, Santana."

###

The next day, we didn't mention what had happened the night before. I didn't want to be fighting the rest of the time I was here so I just let it go. We spent the rest of my vacation exploring the city and we even hung out with Gloria. I really liked that I was friends with someone from Santana's family.

I had a feeling Gloria knew Santana was a lesbian. She kept teasing Santana and she had even tried to get me to say Santana and I were more than just friends. When neither of us would give into the teasing, Gloria stopped.

Before I knew it, it as time for me to go back to Lima.

My last few hours there, I was sad. I mean, I missed my family and wanted to see them, but I didn't want to leave Santana. I zipped up my suitcase and rolled it out to the living room. Julio had given Santana the keys to his truck so she could take me to the airport.

"All packed," I said.

Santana was sitting on the couch, looking really sad. "Do you think your parents will let you come here again in a couple of weeks?"

I went to sit next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. "I'll ask," I said, kissing her cheek.

She turned to me and kissed me on the lips and, as usually happens, we ended up in a deep make out session on the couch. Last night we had had sex four times since we knew it was our last chance for a while. I hoped that being apart for so long would make her miss me so much she'd finally admit her feelings. Or admit she was a lesbian. But after meeting some members of her family, I just hoped that they didn't make her regress. Calendar word.

I pulled back and put her face between my hands. "Remember you said you'd try. I'm really proud of you Santana. Don't let them…anyone scare away the real you I know is in there wanting to wake up."

Santana's eyes got watery and she started blinking fast. She pulled down my hands and looked down at them. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too."

"I do, you know."

"Do what?" I asked.

"_Like_ you, like you." She looked up again and kissed me again. "We should go."

Hearing her say that almost made me cry. I didn't push her more. "Yeah. Let's go."

###

My dad picked me up from the airport and the first thing he was asked was why I looked so sad. As soon as I got to my room I called Santana and we ended up talking for an hour before she had to go pack. Her mom was making her move to the second floor with her.

I took out my laptop and logged on to all my social media accounts to catch up on what everyone else was doing. I browsed my accounts on my phone but when I wanted to really invest some time in my Internet trolling, I had to have a laptop. I scrolled through pictures of Rachel modeling a new animal sweater, Artie hugging his new game controller and Kurt holding up some fabric. I commented on everyone's pictures and I instantly got a message from Rachel about meeting for ice cream later.

I saw a picture of Eva next to her new car and left her a message congratulating her. She commented right back that she was going to call me later to see when she could come pick me up. I was glad she got a car so we could hang out more. I sent her a private message that I was going for ice cream with some of the Glee club and if she wanted to come. She did.

My first day back turned out to be pretty busy and I was glad I wasn't just sitting in my room sad about missing Santana. I hung out with Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes and Eva and didn't get home until past nine. My parents were a little mad that I had spent my first day back with my friends but I promised them to spend the whole day with them tomorrow and that made things better.

After I finished getting ready for bed, I grabbed my laptop and got in bed. I signed on to Facebook and saw that Rachel posted a bunch of pictures of our day together. There was one picture of Eva, Rachel and me holding out ice cream cones and smiling and we looked, like, really good. Even Rachel. I saw it had a few comments including one from Santana.

** Brittany S. Pierce - Guess you got over Chicago fast.**

I frowned. I picked up my phone and sent her a text. Then another one. And one more. I waited for her to reply but I fell asleep and when I woke up in the morning, I saw that Santana still hadn't replied.

I finally managed to get a hold of Santana the next day.

"Why are you mad at me?" I was outside in my backyard walking barefoot on the grass.

"Why do you think I'm mad?" Santana tried to sound casual but I knew that tone. She was upset.

"You did that thing where you avoid me and now you have that tone."

She sighed and cleared her throat. "You know I forget to charge my phone all the time."

I looked up to the sky and let out a breath. "Do you think I don't miss you because I went out with my friends yesterday?" I looked back down and continued my walk.

"I thought your girlfriend Eva lived too far for you guys to hang out?"

"She's not my girlfriend." Santana was so frustrating sometimes and she gave me stress. I thought only adults with hard jobs got stress but I got it too and it was all Santana's fault. "You're stressing me out."

"You're stressing me out!" Santana shot back, "Did you have sex with her?"

I stopped in my tracks. "What?"

"Eva. Clearly you have a preference for Latin women."

"I didn't sleep with her!" Now I was getting mad. "And even if I did, what does it matter? It's not like I'm officially someone's girlfriend."

"Do you want to have sex with her?" I could just imagine Santana clenching her jaw and her fists. She was jealous.

"Stress!" I almost shouted. We'd been separated one day and we were already fighting. I knew she was jealous but she would never admit it, so instead she got mean. "Look, I don't want to fight. I miss you Santana. So much. I wish you were here or I was there. I'm not going to spend the rest of my summer depressed because then my parents will put me on those prescription pills you see in those commercials and I'll get rectal bleeding from the side effects."

"Fine! Fine," she said, "But I don't trust her, OK? She looks evil and you should stay away from her."

"I'm not going to do that. She's my friend."

Santana groaned. "Then don't sleep with her."

"Why?" I wanted her to tell me that she wanted me to only be with her and no one else. Just, something. Something to make me sure that I wasn't crazy and imagining she had love feelings for me. Her telling me she only liked me suddenly wasn't enough.

"Just don't."

"Why?"

She stayed quiet for a many seconds before she spoke again. "I…forget it. Sleep with her if you want. It's not my business. I have to go. Oscar is having a dinner party for just the cousins."

At the mention of her cousin my anger went away. Oscar made it clear how he felt about gay people and I was afraid that he'd say something to destroy the progress she'd made. "I miss you Santana. I miss kissing you and being with you. Please remember your promise to try, OK? Remember what I told you before I left. Don't let them tell you how to live your life."

"Uh…O…OK. You're really taking this next Oprah thing seriously," Santana said with a nervous laugh.

"I'm serious Santana. Just remember to keep trying."

"I'll remember," she whispered.

I really wished I was there with her.

###

The first week without Santana, we called each other every day. I hung out with my Glee friends and Eva and I actually had a lot of fun with all of them. I felt a little guilty at how much fun I was having without Santana but I wasn't going to just sit in my room all summer.

I asked her about Oscar's party and all she had said was that it was boring but I knew there was more. She was hiding something. I tried to get her to tell me throughout the week but she told me to drop it.

In that week, I also got a friend request from Gloria. I accepted and asked her about the dinner party because I felt like she could be trusted. Gloria had told me Oscar and two other cousins had said some mean things about Mario. I was afraid of that.

The second week without Santana, we missed two days of the week talking. I spent the second week with my family in Los Angeles. My dad surprised us all and said he got a big raise at work and he was taking us all to Disneyland. It was so awesome. I also got a chance to see the ULA and CU campuses and I loved them. They both had amazing media programs and L.A jumped to the top of my list of places to go to school. I guess it made sense since they made movies there. I got to see some filming and even saw Gwen Stefani at a Chipotle.

The third week without Santana, we only talked for four days. One of her uncles had gotten her a temp job at an advertising agency so she could get practice making commercials or something. The job kept her super busy and was the reason why she hadn't had time to talk as much the last two weeks. I didn't want to think of why she didn't tell me about the job when she started.

The fourth week without Santana, we only talked for two days. I felt that feeling again that we were going off in different directions and I didn't like it at all. When I did talk to her, she sounded different.

"Are you doing OK?" I asked. We had managed to find time to Skype and I was glad to see her face. She looked so beautiful and seeing her made me miss her so much.

"I'm fine Britt," she said with a smile, "This temp job is keeping me busy and whatever free time I have, my family takes it."

"Is that why we haven't talked much?"

"I'm sorry about that." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I have to concentrate on this job because the manager said that if I do a good job, they'll bring me back next summer."

"Oh, uh, that's awesome." There it was again. Santana making plans for her life that had nothing to do with me. I had no right to be sad about that because she had to make plans to get a job and be a grownup. I had to do the same. I mean, just yesterday I was looking at maps of L.A. and making a list of places to visit if I went to ULA or CU.

"Oh hey, how was Disneyland?"

We spent the next hour just chatting and catching up. I sort of had an idea of what she was up to by Instagram, Facebook and from what Gloria would tell me. It made me wish I was there. Santana told me she saw all the pictures of me that everyone was posting and said she was happy I was having a good time.

"So, you're not mad I'm hanging out with everyone?"

"No," she said with a smile, "You were right. I can't expect you to sit in your room all summer. Though, I am concerned you're spending so much time with Rachel and her minions. At least you're still hanging out with Quinn to keep you on the right track."

"Don't start," I laughed, "They're awesome and when you get back, you're hanging out with us. You'll see."

"I doubt that." Santana bit her lip in her nervous way and I knew she was going to ask something that made her uncomfortable. "So, how are things with you and Evil? Judging by all those pictures, you guys hang out a lot."

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling at the nickname. "Eva. And fine. I mean, she's gotten to be really good friends with Quinn of all people. Once Eva paid her the money she owed her, Quinn got nice. And it was only like $10!"

"Quinn doesn't mess around when it comes to money," Santana said, "So, uh, you guys are still just friends? Any crazy parties?"

"No crazy parties." I could tell she was fidgeting and she kept looking down. "Well, none as crazy as the Carmel ones. Rachel threw a vegetarian BBQ. It was not that great."

Santana laughed. "No shit."

The truth was, Eva and I were always flirting and we had even gotten tipsy at Rachel's BBQ and kissed, but nothing like the Carmel party. Compared to that, the BBQ kiss was pretty tame. I really couldn't drink and be near Eva because we always ended up kissing. I liked kissing Eva but it wasn't the same as kissing Santana. When I kissed Santana, I went to that unicorn candy world. When I kissed Eva, I just stayed in Lima.

Eva was so different from Santana. I mean, yeah they were both Latina and I realized that I definitely had a type, but Eva didn't care what people thought of her. I wish Santana was like that.

Eva and I were still just friends because neither one of us was interested in being in a relationship. She said she was too young to be tied down and I said the same thing. The real reason was that I was in love with Santana.

Ever since Freshman year, Santana and I had been inseparable and I thought I could never be way from her. That it would be too sad and I wouldn't be able to deal. These past few weeks without Santana proved I was wrong and I could be without her. I didn't like it, but it was possible.

I loved Santana but I couldn't put my life on hold waiting for her.

"I miss you, Britt," she said.

"I miss you too."

"Just two more weeks."

"We can totally handle that," I said and gave her a big smile.

I just hoped that when she came back, she would still be the Santana I got to know this summer.

###

I woke up really early and got dressed. Today was the first day of school and it was also the first day I was going to see Santana. She had stayed in Chicago until yesterday because the job she had asked her to work longer. My mom dropped me off at school and I headed straight to my locker hoping to see Santana there. She wasn't.

That annoying camera guy Jacob was walking the halls asking people what they did during their summer vacation. I told him that I was lost in the sewers all summer. I liked saying random stuff like that to people just to mess with them and it always made me laugh.

I put my last book in my backpack and closed my locker when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and squealed.

"Santana!" I dropped my backpack and hugged her.

"Hey Britt!" She was laughing and hugging me back. We hugged for a really long time before she stepped back. "Did you miss me?"

"Duh!" I couldn't stop from smiling. I swear she got prettier in the six weeks I hadn't seen her in person. "Did you miss me?"

She gave me the sweetest smile. "Always."

"I'm so glad you're back," I said, "Can you believe we're Seniors?"

"No, but I'm glad we are," she said, "I cannot wait to get out of this school."

I knew how she felt. I couldn't wait to start college but at the same time, I was going to miss all my friends. I picked up my bag and linked pinkies with Santana. "What's your first class?"

"AP English," she said and I frowned. I had regular English.

"Oh. Uh, what about the rest of your classes?"

We compared schedules and we found that we only had one class together, history. Since we weren't in Cheerios anymore, we didn't have that together either. But at least we had Glee.

"Well that sucks," she said. We began walking down the hall to our classrooms since they were across the hall from each other. "What math class did you get? Didn't you take the highest last year?"

"They put me in AP Calculus," I whined, "I already studied that book cause I got bored with regular Calculus."

Santana laughed and squeezed my pinky with her own. "Such a genius." We arrived at her class and stopped. "I'll see you at lunch?," she asked.

"For sure." Neither of us let go of our pinkies. I didn't want to let her go after being separated for so long. I wanted her to tell me everything about her job, what she did in Chicago, and if she had tried like she promised. "Are you busy after school? Well, after Glee?," I asked, "My parents and sister are going to be home late so we can hang out and you can tell me all about your job."

She looked at me and I could tell she was trying not to smile. "That sounds awesome."

She finally let me go and walked inside. Before I left I heard her snap at some guy who had bumped into her. Santana was back.

* * *

**A/N: I really thought I would be done with the high school part of this story by now so this is turning out way longer than I expected. ;) Hopefully it's not too much of a drag. A little preview, Santana is going to take a big step soon. **

**Thanks for the reviews and follows. I really appreciate it! **


	13. No Fly List

I spent the rest of the day kind of giddy from having Santana back. It was a funny thing. When she was gone, I thought that I could live without seeing her everyday. Now that she was back, the thought of not seeing her every day felt awful. Feelings were so weird like that.

When I got to Glee, most of the club was already there, talking and catching up. I looked around and realized I kinda missed everyone. Well, everyone I didn't see during the summer like Sam, Finn and even Puck. Ever since Santana had dumped him, I started liking him again. He really was a good guy and as long as he stayed away from Santana, I had no problem with him.

When Santana came in, she came straight to me and gave me a big smile. We didn't get a chance to talk because Mr. Shue came in and told everyone to take a seat.

Santana and I sat in the back, in our usual seats and watched Mr. Shue stand in front of the club and talk about all the cool things he had planned for us this year. Halfway through his speech, Rachel got up and interrupted him.

"Mr. Shue, if I may," Rachel said, facing us, "This is going to be an amazing year. Our Senior year, well for most of us, is going to be the best! We are going to go out with a bang!"

"You want us to shoot you?" Santana asked, in a very serious tone. It made me laugh.

Rachel ignored Santana and kept talking. She really did love the spotlight and I knew Rachel would make a great performer one day. I turned to look at Santana again and she looked like she was really trying not to get up an walk out. She looked so beautiful and all those six weeks of not seeing her, seemed like they didn't happen. I had so many questions and the whole day I kept trying to figure out which Santana had come back to me. The Santana who was trying or the old Santana who wouldn't even admit we were sleeping together.

"Are you OK, Britt?" I was so into my thoughts that I didn't notice Santana lean in and whisper in my ear.

"I'm fine," I said, "Rachel is just making me sleepy."

"That makes two of us," she said.

Mr. Shue finally interrupted Rachel. "OK, Rachel, have a seat. We have a lot to cover." Rachel frowned but sat down. "So, everyone," Mr. Shue went on, "I want to introduce you to our newest Glee member, Sugar Motta."

A short girl with long hair, that really looked like Santana's mom, stood up in front of the room. I turned to Santana. "Is that one of your cousins?"

Santana gave me a confused look and shook her head.

"Thank you, Mr. Shue," Sugar said, "I'm glad to be here and glad to help get this group into shape cause you guys suck. You haven't won anything. But I'm here now and I'll help you to succeed. Oh, also, I want to make it clear that my dad is not in the mafia."

"You should ask your mom if you have a cousin in Lima," I told Santana. She gave me another confused look. I just shrugged.

###

After Glee, we headed back to my house. My mom had ordered pizza and had left it in the kitchen. Santana and I grabbed a couple of slices and sodas and took them to the living room. We sat on the couch eating and talking about our day since we only had one class together. Once we were on our second slice, I asked her what I really wanted to know.

"So, how was Chicago? Was your job cool?"

She nodded and finished chewing. "It was good. The job was awesome. It was for Advant Advertising and they're the biggest agency for the Mid-West. I'm hoping to work there one day so this summer thing was good practice. I mean, it was mostly grunt work but the last two weeks, they were letting me help with big marketing accounts. It was amazing and the manager said that they want me back next summer too."

I smiled and nodded. "That's so awesome, Santana. I bet you were the best one there."

She shrugged but I could see her try not to smile. "Maybe."

I really was proud of her but hearing that she would definitely be back in Chicago next summer made me sad. She really was setting up her grown up life there.

"And, uh, your family? How was it being with them?" That's what I really wanted to know.

"Fine."

"Just fine?"

"With the job, I didn't spend much time with them. I hung out with Gloria and Alana a few times, but that's about it. You know, besides having to go family dinners and stuff." She put her empty plate on the coffee table and finished her soda.

"And what happened with your cousin, Mario?"

"Nothing," she said, "He's still…you know."

"Gay."

"Maybe, I guess. I don't know. I didn't see him at all." She fidgeted in her seat and stared playing with her hands and I knew that meant she was uncomfortable and didn't want to talk about this. But I did.

"He's gay, Santana." I put my plate and soda down too. "Were Oscar and the rest of your family saying mean things about him?"

She groaned and got up. "Why do you care about him so much? You don't even know him."

"I care that your family thinks he's gross because he's gay," I said, "I care, because I don't want them to think that way about you."

"Why would they?" She crossed her arms and it was almost like she was daring me to tell her why. She knew why.

"I'm gay," I said, " Well, half-gay, but still. I've been thinking of changing my status on my Facebook. I'm friends with some of your cousins and mom, do you think they'd think I was gross? Or half gross? Or tell you not to be my friend anymore."

She shook her head and I could tell she _really_ didn't want to talk about this. Well, too bad. "Don't do that."

I scooted forward and sat at the edge of the couch. "I told my parents I was bisexual and you know what they did? Nothing. They just said it was OK and then sent me to the store to get milk. They didn't care and don't treat me any different. If you tell your mom, I'm sure she wouldn't care either."

Santana dropped her arms to her side and her whole body got tense. She looked so mad. I had never seen her look this mad. "Don't! Your family is not like mine."

I stood up and got closer to her. "Your mom will still love you…."

"I told you to stop! Look, I know, OK? I know….it's not my mom I'm worried about…it's the rest of the family." She ran a hand through her hair and started walking around the room. "What the hell, Britt? I thought we were going to hang out and you turned this into some crazy Bi coming out party ."

I knew she was trying to change the subject back to me so I ignored her last part. "Then why do you want to go to Chicago? They're all there?"

"I'm not going to live with them," Santana said, exasperated, "My parents set up a trust when I was born and I have enough money to live on my own. And the family, well, I don't have to see them if I don't want to, maybe at family gatherings, but that's it. I have to go there for school and this job. I have to."

I let out a breath. She did have to go there and I felt a tightness in my chest knowing that I wouldn't be there with her. "OK." She seemed relieved and relaxed a little. "Can I ask you something?" She didn't move or say anything for a long moment before she nodded. "Did you try? Did you try like you said?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, I saw they looked a little watery. "I did. I tried. Even when I just wanted to give up, I tried because I wanted to keep my promise to you. You weren't there and I realized I couldn't depend on you all the time to push me. I had to learn to do it on my own. I tried. I'm still trying."

When we were in Cheerios and I had to be on the bottom of the pyramid and have all the girls on top of me, it felt so heavy and when they got off, it felt so good that all that weight had been taken off my shoulders. That's how I felt now, like all this weight had been taken off just by finding out Santana had kept her promise.

I went to her and brought her in for a hug. "I'm so glad. Thank you."

She tightened her arms around me and I felt her relax. "Please don't rush me," she whispered.

I kissed her shoulder and held her. I felt like an asshole. I should be supporting her and not forcing her to do something she wasn't ready for. "I'm sorry. "

"Just give me a bit more time."

I had already given her a year and I really hoped she still didn't need that much more. I didn't know how much longer I could wait.

###

About a month into Senior year, I decided to go into politics. Kurt asked me to be his campaign manager for the Senior Class President elections, but halfway through, he fired me. Apparently, he didn't like my unicorn theme, even though it was awesome. I mean, why would he want boring posters with "Vote 4 Kurt" on them when he could have had one where a unicorn was riding him and the slogan "Horny 4 the Future"?

After he fired me, I felt really sad I had let him down but Santana cheered me right up. She told me my idea was genius and that Kurt wasn't smart enough to understand the whole concept. I fell in love with her a bit more after that. She told me that I should be president and convinced me to run. She was so supportive and even organized a whole school dance rally to get the female vote and it totally worked.

That was happening a lot lately, me falling for her more and more. Since coming back from Chicago, she had been so sweet and caring and it was amazing. But, she still kept her distance and we had only kissed since she got back. It was for the best, I think. In Chicago, we were in like a fantasy world where we were grown ups and had our own apartment, but now we were back.

On the day of the election I was so nervous. I really wanted to win to clean up this school. Santana and I were just outside the gym getting ready to go inside to vote.

"Are you going to vote for me?" I asked her.

"Of course I am," she smiled, "I'll always vote for you."

I really wanted to kiss her right then but there were too many people around.

"Let's go make me president!" I said and we both went in to the voting booth.

###

The next day, I was sworn in as the first ex-Cheerio-Glee-Club member in the history of McKinley. Santana had come to pick me up extra early to take me to a celebration waffle breakfast that day and I wondered how she new I had won, since they didn't announce the winner until first period.

When I walked into Glee club, Tina and Mercedes were holding up a long banner that had my name and and a congratulations message written in crayon.

"Well done, Ms. President!" Rachel said and gave me a hug, "I'm glad we have a female president this year. Girl Power!"

I laughed while I heard Santana groan. "Thanks Rachel."

Sugar let out a loud woot sound. "Way to go Brittany!"

Sugar was weird but she was actually a lot of fun. She reminded me of me and sometimes I could have weird conversations with her and she'd totally get what I was saying. I was still convinced she was related to Santana somehow but I couldn't prove it.

"Congratulations Brittany," Kurt said, "I guess I should have listened to you. The unicorn theme worked."

I gave Kurt a hug. "I hate to say I told you so…"

"She told you so!" Santana jumped in, "You, like everyone at this school, underestimated my girl Brittany. Looks like your toothless posters drove people away."

I tried not to laugh. "Santana, be nice. Anyway, Kurt, maybe you can run next year."

"I graduate. I'll be gone by next election."

"Oh, right." I just shrugged my shoulders. "Oh, well. There's always college elections. Maybe you can be president of fabrics or whatever."

"Yeah, maybe."

Quinn came up to me, holding a present. "Here, this is for you."

I clapped my hands and jumped a little. I loved presents! "Yay, thanks Quinn!" I opened it up and saw it was a journal. "Awesome!"

"It's to write down all your presidential notes. Just, don't put any secrets in there."

"I should probably buy a safe to put this in." Everyone laughed even though I was serious.

After Glee, we all went to Breadstix to celebrate. Senior year was really awesome so far.

###

After a couple of weeks of being president, I realized this school was a mess and all the other presidents didn't even try to fix anything. Santana had helped me a lot even though I told her she shouldn't be spending her free time in boring school politics. She told me she didn't care and that she wanted to help. I was pretty sure that was just her excuse to spend time with me.

We still weren't sleeping together and I was still OK with that. The longer we went on without sexy times, the more I thought it would be a good idea not to sleep together until she could at least admit she was gay. I didn't push her anymore and I stopped brining it up even though I really wanted to. We were just best friends right now.

It was the weekend and I was bored. Abuela Lopez had been in town this week and I hadn't gotten a chance to hang out with Santana as much. I hadn't been to her house either and I wondered if Abuela Lopez even remembered me.

I picked up my phone and started texting people to see who wanted to hang out. My parents and sister were gone all day at some soccer day camp thing my sister had signed up for, so I was home alone for the day. Rachel and Mercedes both had plans with their families. Kurt was hanging out with his new boyfriend Blaine and Tina and Artie were at some comic book convention.

So, I was glad when Quinn said she was free and that we should go to a movie. I also heard back from Eva who said she'd love to hang out. She was the first to arrive to my house.

I heard the doorbell and when I opened it, Eva was standing there with a big smile on her face, looking as pretty as ever. "Hi Brittany." She stepped inside and kissed me on the lips. "I'm so glad you texted, I was so bored at home."

"Me too," I smiled. I let her in and followed her to the living room. My relationship with Eva was still, really friendly. She always kissed me hello, hugged or just touched me when she had a chance and I always let her. I don't know what it was about her but I couldn't stay away. No, wait, that's a lie. I knew why I still kept my special relationship with Eva. It was because she was so open about liking me and wasn't afraid to show it in public. Eva didn't care what people thought and it was really nice to not be a secret.

I had a lot of fun with Eva and we would totally be an awesome couple except for one thing. I was in love with Santana. If I had met Eva first, we'd probably be the hottest couple in Lima.

"So, is it just us or are we waiting on someone?" Eva sat on the couch and I sat next to her.

"Quinn's coming too," I said, "She's probably ironing her sundress or something."

Eva grinned and scooted closer to me. "Perfect." Before I knew it, she was kissing me. I should have stopped it but I just went with it and kissed her back. We only kissed for a little bit before I heard the doorbell. Quinn was here. "Damn, Quinn has horrible timing," Eva said.

I just smiled and went to get the door, with Eva following behind me.

"You couldn't have shown up twenty minutes later?" Eva asked.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No!" I said really fast, "We were just talking."

"Right." Quinn looked like she didn't believe me. "Well, we should go or we'll miss the movie."

I was actually glad that Quinn interrupted. Kissing Eva wasn't as much fun as it used to be and I didn't want to do it anymore. I didn't want to have this special friendship with Eva. It was the same special friendship I had with Mike and Santana. I didn't want special friendships anymore. I wanted to be a girlfriend. I wanted someone to take me out on dates and buy me things. I wanted someone who I could take out and buy things too.

Quinn, Eva and I had hung out a lot this summer. We were like the Three Amigos. Or Amigas since we were all girls. I was learning Spanish to surprise Santana one day. Every time we hung out, I thought about Santana.

Quinn had really mellowed out and was a lot nicer during the summer without the pressure of all the high school rules. She had even gotten to be friends with Rachel. Sometimes I wished I could talk to her about what was going on with Santana but I couldn't and that was kinda frustrating.

After the movie, Quinn went home and Eva and I went to the park to sit by the pond. I was glad there weren't any ducks around caise they creeped me out a little.

"Today was fun," Eva said, "I never thought I'd be friends with anyone from McKinley but, here I am. I'm so glad we made out at that party."

"Me too. I'm glad we're friends." I looked from the water to her and I guess she could tell something was wrong because she got this concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

Here we go. I had to break up with her. I guess that's what this was but it was confusing since we weren't a couple. "I'm glad we're friends," I repeated, "And I think we should be friends. Just friends. Uh, regular friends."

She turned her body to face me. "We are regular friends, Brittany."

I shook my head. "No. Quinn and I are regular friends. Rachel and I are regular friends. You and I? We're special friends. Friends who kiss and make out. I mean, we've seen each other's boobs! Regular friends don't do that."

"So…you don't want to make out anymore?" She sounded so disappointed. "We've been making out for awhile now. Why the sudden change?"

"I just.. I don't want special friends anymore. I want a real girlfriend or boyfriend. I want to go on dates and go out to dinners and stuff. I don't want to make out just because we can."

She slowly nodded. "I get it. You want to settle down, so to speak."

"I'm sorry."

"No. Don't be sorry." Eva reached for my hand. "I totally get it and as awesome as we'd be together, it's not a good idea for us to be a real couple. I mean, I've thought about it, many times but…"

"But what?"

"We go to different schools now and we'll probably go off to different parts of the country for college. I just think it's a bad idea."

I nodded and agreed with her. I just went along with her saying that long distance would be a relationship breaker because I didn't want to tell her that, for me, it wasn't about distance, it was about Santana. "So, regular friends then?"

She smiled and squeezed my hand. "Regular friends."

One down, two to go.

###

The next day at school I found Mike and I broke up with him. It was a bit weird since we forgot we were sort of standby dating. We did that last time we went out. We just didn't care enough. My talk with Mike lasted like five minutes and it was the easiest break up of all. The hardest one, was the next one.

Santana.

As much as I loved her, she needed to work on herself and concentrate on trying to come out without me distracting her and pushing her to do something she wasn't ready for.

Right before lunch ended, I found Santana at her locker getting her books for her next class. "Hey, are you busy after school? I need to talk to you."

"Not busy. What's up?" She closed her locker and gave me her full attention.

"I broke up with Eva and Mike and I wanted to talk to you about it," I said.

"What?! Wait, were you dating them?"

I shrugged. "Standby dating, but that's over." The bell rang for our next class. "I'll see you after school, OK?"

"Brittany!"

"After school," I said, "I have to get to class." I turned to leave before she could say anything else.

###

When the last bell rang, I went to my locker to drop off some books then headed to the parking lot to Santana's car. As soon as I got in, she asked me her question again.

"Where you dating both of them this whole time?" Santana had her whole body turned to me. "You weren't sleeping with them, were you? No threesomes or anything like that? Because that goes against one of our rules."

I put on my seatbelt and put my bag on the floor. "Uh, that rule was for us, not them and no, I didn't sleep with them. As adventurous as I am with sex, I can't handle more than one person. Too many limbs flying about."

Santana took a deep breath, like she was trying to calm herself down. She turned forward and started the car and drove off. When we were on the road she continued asking me questions. "I thought I told you to put Boy Chang on the no fly list."

"He was! But I realized I never officially broke off our thing. So I had to do that."

"And Eva? She was on the no fly list too, right?"

I swallowed and shook my head. "No. She was on the OK to fly list," I said softly.

Santana gripped the wheel and pulled over and parked behind a red car. "So you were making out with her the whole time we were together?"

"Not the whole time and that's not going to happen anymore."

Santana scoffed and shook her head. "Well, it's nice to know you've been cheating this whole time, but hey, thanks for putting a stop it!"

"Cheating? Cheating, how? I mean, I'm technically single so I can't be cheating on anyone." I took a breath and went on . "I decided that I don't want special friendships anymore. That includes you too Santana. I want a real girlfriend or boyfriend to take me out on dates and stuff. And you need to focus on yourself. You're doing so good and even though we haven't had sexy times since Chicago, we have kissed. A lot. We have to stop that so you can figure out who you are and want you want."

Santana just looked at me and I could tell she wanted to say something but she just stayed quiet. She started the car again and drove into traffic. She didn't say another word.

I expected her to take me to my house but she drove to hers and parked in her driveway. She got her bag then got out of the car and went inside. I stayed in the car thinking she would come back but she didn't. I went inside and found her pacing in her living room.

"What are you doing? Why didn't you drop me off at home?"

"I can't."

"Yes, you can," I said, "It's just like five minutes from here…."

"No!" She stopped pacing and looked at me, her eyes were watery. "I can't go to and Indigo Girls concert with you. Or play golf. Or go window shopping at Home Depot."

"I don't even like any of those things." She looked so upset that I went to her and stood close in case she needed me.

"I like what we have," she said, a couple of tears falling down her cheeks, "I know it's kind of fucked up and that's mostly my fault, but I want to make it better."

I was trying to figure out what she was saying but she was all over the place. "Santana…"

"No, listen." She reached for my hands and took them. "I'm a mess, I know, but you make me less of a mess. Being with you is the only thing that makes sense to me. I want to be with you. I can't… I can't be your…not like normal but I can take you places, if you want. Maybe somewhere outside of Lima…and I can buy you things too. I can't be what you want yet, but maybe I can be something different. Just, please don't break this off. The only time I feel happy is when…when I'm with you."

I felt my own tears fall down my cheeks. Santana's words were what I had wanted to hear for so long. There was no hiding, no denial, no lies. She wanted to be with me. Santana denying me and our relationship was what had hurt the most this past year so hearing her say she wanted me, made me so happy.

I looked into her eyes and I saw just how scared she was of losing what we had and I knew I was lying to myself that I could ever break things off with her. We had tried many times to stop and we always came back to each other. In the back of my mind, I knew that breaking things off today was going to be temporary.

Now, though, I couldn't break things off. I didn't want to. She wanted to be with me.

"I want to be with you too, Santana. Being with you makes me happy."

She let out a long breath, trying not to cry. "So, it's OK if we're…something different? For now?"

I pulled her in and hugged her, tight. "It's OK. It's more than OK."

Santana and I had never had a normal relationship. That wasn't us. Whatever we were going to be now was fine because, at least now, she wasn't denying me or us. This could work.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: A horrible thing happened. The flash drive I had all my stories somehow got corrupted and I lost everything - including the next five chapters I had written for this story and my outline. I was so pissed I really wanted to just stop this story. But I know there are a lot of you who are enjoying this so I'm going to do my best to re-write what I lost. I hate wondering if what I had written was better than the rewrite.**

**Like I said before, I had planned this story having three parts and switching to Santana's POV, but I lost all that so I'm not sure what I'll do now. Maybe I'll just keep it as one long story and keep on with Britt's side since we didn't get much of that on the show.**

**OK, I just needed to vent a bit. Ugh! Five (long) chapters just gone. :( I'll try to keep updating every Sunday but if I miss one, I didn't get a chance to catch up.**


	14. Bubbles

She wasn't my girlfriend. Not officially.

We weren't dating. Not officially.

We _were_ together. Just not officially.

It had been two weeks since I tried to break things off with Santana and in those two weeks, she had changed. She was doing so well before, but after our talk, she was even closer to being the real Santana. She took me out to dinner a couple of times and even bought me a cute pin of a movie camera. She hugged me just because and she'd kiss me, just because. It really felt like we were dating, but just not officially.

We still hadn't slept together and neither one of us had even tried. We were happy to just hold hands and cuddle on the couch while watching a movie. We weren't officially together, but it sure felt like we were.

Santana picked me up for school every day and took me home almost every day. She had started staying after school for some study thing she said she signed up for. When I asked her about it, she just brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal, but it felt like it was.

It was now Friday and we decided to start out Friday dates again. I told Rachel that I wasn't going to go out with the Glee club on Fridays for at least a few weeks. I wanted to spend Fridays with Santana and maybe, in the future, she and I could join the Glee club on Fridays together.

We didn't go out this Friday and instead stayed in at Santana's house since her mom was out of town with her boyfriend on some anniversary thing. We were in her room, and I was sitting at her desk reading a magazine and Santana sat on the bed.

"We should take a bath." she said.

I looked up from the magazine. "A bath?"

"Yeah," she said, getting up, "It's supposed to be relaxing right before you go to bed."

"Uh, OK, sure." I hadn't taken a bath in a long time and I could use some relaxing. "Do you want to go first?" Santana smiled then came to me and took my hand. She led me to her bathroom. "Do you want me to go first?"

She let go of my hand and closed the door. "We should both go first." She unbuttoned my jeans and pulled down my zipper. "Finish undressing and I'll draw the bath."

I just stood there for a bit not moving and watched her draw the bath. Once she got the water running, she started undressing and I still didn't move. I just kept thinking about why they call it drawing a bath when you didn't even have any crayons.

Santana was now standing in front of me in her underwear and bra and trying to get my attention. "Britt? Why are you still dressed?"

I snapped out of my daze. I hadn't expected to take a bath, a naked bath, with Santana and I think my brain overloaded. "Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry." I quickly undressed in like five seconds and stood totally naked in front of her.

She stared at me and I saw that look in her eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time. That look that told me she wanted me. "Gorgeous," she said so softly that I almost didn't hear. She took off her bra and underwear and looked me in the eyes. "Relaxing, right?"

"Not yet," I admitted, staring at her beautiful body, "Just a lot of nakedness. Awesome nakedness."

She laughed and leaned in and gave me a small kiss on my cheek. "Come on."

She took my hand and led me to the bathtub. She got in first then told me to get in next. I got in and settled myself between her legs, and leaned back.

"Your boobs are the best pillows," I sighed.

She put her arms around me and hugged me closer. "Do you want bubbles?"

I smiled and nodded. She reached for a pink bottle and added some liquid to the water and soon we were surrounded by bubbles. "Now, it's relaxing."

"Good." She kissed my temple and we didn't say another word for a long time.

We relaxed, washed each other and talked about random stuff. If this is what being an unofficial couple was like, I wondered what it would be like when we did become official.

I took her hand and brought it up from the water. "Your hands are all wrinkly."

"We have been in here a long time," she said with a laugh, "We should probably get out."

I got up first and helped her up. I was surprised that we didn't end up having sex. When we took showers together, we always ended up giving each other orgasms. Maybe Santana didn't find baths sexy.

When we were dry and dressed for bed, I yawned. The bath really was relaxing. I got into bed and got on my side. "Are baths not sexy to you?"

Santana turned off the main light and got in bed. We still had the bedside lamp on so the room wasn't completely dark. "What?" she asked.

"Well, when we take showers, we always end up having sex," I explained, "But in the bath, no sex."

She climbed on top of me and gave me a quick kiss. "Baths are sexy. You're sexy. I just thought we could relax with a bath."

I didn't expect her to do that. "I got real relaxed."

"Good." She leaned down and kissed me again. Then again and again and each time it got a bit deeper. By the fourth kiss, I was massaging her tongue with mine.

This was the most intense make-out we've had since becoming unofficial and it felt like I was waking up. Not that I walked around asleep when she wasn't kissing me, but kissing her woke up my whole body.

"I missed kissing you like this," she breathed against my lips and I swear I think I died a little, "I missed seeing you naked. I missed laying in bed with you."

OK, was I dreaming? Did I hit my head and I was in a coma? Santana saying these things felt like a dream. "I missed all those things too."

She sat up and took of her shirt, her boobs bouncing a little. She didn't have a bra on and I was so glad about that. She then pulled me up and took off my shirt too and we were both topless. "Is this OK, Britt? We don't have to, if…"

"I want to! I really want to." I pulled her to me and kissed her, our breasts pressed up against each other. I had missed this so much and had tried to convince myself that I didn't. Man, was I wrong.

She broke the kiss and kissed down my neck down to my left boob and took it in her mouth. "Ahhh." She then moved to the next one and it felt just as amazing.

She moved back up to my neck and I felt her lick me. "I missed your taste…how you feel…" She lifted her head to look at me. "I missed being close to you and I don't mean the orgasms, I mean….just being this close to you."

"Wow." I really hoped I wasn't in a coma.

"Shit, that sounded really corny, right?" She had the most adorable shy smile on her face that made me smile too.

Was it possible for your heart to explode from happiness? I hoped not, cause I might drop dead right here on this bed. "No, not corny. Really sweet. I just…I never thought you'd say things like that."

She gave me a quick kiss on my lips. "I don't have to try as hard as I did before. It's easier now, to tell you my feelings."

"Cause we're unofficial?"

"No. I mean, that's part of it." She adjusted herself on top of me and settled herself between my legs a little better. "You know those study sessions I've been going to after school?" I nodded. "They weren't really study sessions. I've been talking to someone."

"Like a doctor? Why didn't you tell me?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not in therapy. Remember when I told you how I felt like I was going to explode?"

"Yeah."

"That feeling was getting worse and it got really bad the day after you, uh, tried to break things off between us."

"What happened?"

She rolled off me and laid on her side, facing me. I did the same and you'd think the two of us topless facing each other would be a big turn on, but I wasn't even thinking about that.

"I was just sitting in the choir room when Holly Holiday came in and practically kidnapped me and took me to her office. Next thing I know, I'm sitting on the floor in the dark, surrounded by candles."

"Like a sonic session?"

"Seance, Britt, and not really. She…she got me talking and talking and the more I talked, the better I felt."

"That's awesome, Santana. Maybe you needed the candles to talk," I teased.

"I just think it was easier to talk to a stranger, you know? Someone who didn't know me or my life."

That made sense. Holly didn't know Santana before and didn't know how much she protected her image and how scared she was. I had tried to get her to talk to me this whole time and it started to feel like I wasn't enough. I guess I wasn't what she needed, and that was OK.

I leaned in and gave her a small kiss. "I'm really proud of you, Santana. Can I ask what you talked about?"

She smiled and moved to lay on top of me again. "I talked about how I kept lying to myself and kept hurting someone I really cared about." She took a breath. "I said it. Out loud. I said it."

My heart started beating faster and I didn't want to get my hopes up, just in case. "What did you say?"

She grinned down at me and bit her lip. "I'm a lesbian." I just started laughing. Not loud or hard but I just laughed. "Wow, that is not the reaction I expected."

It was like everything that happened with Santana in the last year or so, just flashed before my eyes and I laughed. I laughed and at one point, I stopped laughing and I cried. Not out of control crying but just some tears. All the frustration, denials and hurt of the past just got to me. But that was over. She said it.

"Oh, Britt." Santana got off me then pulled me to her in a hug. A sideways hug I guess since we were lying down. "Sweetie, why are you crying?"

I could hear her voice crack and I knew if I didn't stop crying, she'd cry too. "I'm sorry." I took a bunch of deep breaths and got control of myself. "I'm sorry. I just…I've been waiting a really long time for you to say that."

She gently pushed me away from her so she could see me and I saw she had cried a little too. "I'm the one that's sorry, for taking so long to be honest with you. With myself. I'm still not ready to tell the general public but I hated that I couldn't tell you. I knew that sooner or later you were going to just walk away from me…and you almost did."

I shook my head. "No way, I'd never do that!"

"I know, Britt," she said, "I don't mean completely walk away. I knew you'd always be my friend. But, I kept denying you, us, and I could see how much it hurt you but I could't stop myself. I knew if I kept doing that, I'd lose you, and when you tried to break it off, I got so scared and I knew my time was up and I had to do something."

"I'm not going anywhere." I reached over and caressed her cheek. "Say it again."

She took my hand and kissed it. "I'm a lesbian and I want to be with you…officially."

I felt like crying again but I held it back. I was already a mess. "You do?"

"Yes," she said, couple of tears running down her cheeks, "I don't want to pretend anymore. I want to be with only you, and I want you to be with only me. Official."

"Official." I repeated, softy

"I still have to work on going public," she said, "But I need to be honest with you. So? What do you say?"

"Yes." I was so happy I lunged at her and hugged her really tight. I heard her laugh and she hugged me back. "Official!"

"Official." she laughed.

We stayed like that for awhile before I realized something. "Uh, we're still topless."

That made her laugh harder. She pulled away from me and looked at my chest. "Oh, right."

"Are you still feeling horny?" I asked, still trying not to bust out laughing. That question made her laugh even more and I lost it too. We laughed for a long time and by the end of our laugh fest, we were both not in the mood for sexy times.

We got under the covers, still topless, and she cuddled against me, her head on my chest.

"You haven't changed your mind, right?" I asked.

"Never."

"Good, me neither." I sighed and closed my eyes, enjoying the topless cuddling.

###

Santana had parked the car about two blocks from the school and in a street where hardly anyone walked through. We were on our way to meet up with the Glee club for a Saturday practice session, which Rachel had organized, making everyone mad at her. We had gotten out and moved to the back seat where we were currently making out. It was supposed to be quick kisses since we couldn't do that in front of the Glee club, but were were practically having sex. I was on top of her and had one hand on her boob.

"We have to stop," I told her, trying to catch my breath, "We're going to be late."

"But I'm feeling horny now." She licked my lower lip and as a reflex I squeezed her boob tighter.

I took my hand away and Santana pouted. With all my will power, I got off her and sat as far away as I could. "Horny time was last night. Now is Glee time."

Santana groaned and got up. "But we haven't had sex since Chicago," she whined, "And now that we're official, your kisses taste and feel so much better. I can only imagine what the sex will be like. I can't help myself."

I almost lunged at her but I knew if I did, we'd be so late for Glee. "Everything is better with feelings."

"It is," she said softly. She closed her eyes and let out her frustrated sex sigh. I got to learn that sigh pretty well during that week we went to some cheerleading camp Sue sent us to and we couldn't find any time to be alone. "OK, I guess you're right, Britt. Besides, I'd rather not have our first time be in the backseat of my car."

"Uh, Santana, we've had sex, approximately 208 times."

"For real?" Santana grinned, "You counted?"

I shrugged. "I like counting things."

She laughed and scooted closer to me. "208 orgasms is fucking impressive."

"Oh, there's been way more than that. Way more. I just counted the times you did me, I did you and we did us together. Orgasms mess with my math brain and I lost count."

Santana kissed me and smirked. "Now I know your math weakness." That made me blush. "Anyway," she went on, "I meant our fist time since we became official girlfriends. The first time when I won't try to hide my feelings for you."

Part of me still thought I was dreaming and thought this was too good to be true. Finally knowing how she felt about me was such a relief. Although she hadn't said it, I knew she loved me more than a friend. I was 97% sure she was in love with me too.

"Maybe we should wait then," I said, "Go on a date, then sexy times. That's what they do in the movies."

Santana's smile disappeared and I saw her take in a deep breath, like she was trying to calm herself. Maybe that was too much. "Or not. I mean, we don't have to do date stuff…I mean we already went out to dinner a couple of times, so that counts. Forget I said anything…let's just have sex right now…''

"Brittany!" Santana reached form my hands and held the to her chest. "Take a breath and slow down. A date is good. I'm not freaking out, I promise. I just…I've never really been on a real date before and I hope I don't screw it up."

"Really?" That was surprising. "But you went out on a date with Matt. And Puck. And that basketball player."

She shook her head and laughed softly. "Those don't count. I mean a real date with someone I actually want to be with."

I couldn't help but smile. "Oh."

She leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. "I'll think of something, OK? You just sit back and relax."

I felt like a glass off champagne with all the bubbles fizzing up to the top. The bubbles were giving me that tingly feeling. That Santana-tingly feeling. "I can't wait."

"Me neither," she said, "Now, come on, let's get to school. Oh, did you call Rachel about giving you a ride after Glee?"

"Yeah," I said, "I just have to listen to her latest song first."

"Ugh, the torture," she groaned.

"Are you meeting Holly again?"

"Yes. She and some other teachers have some weekend conference thing at the school. I have a big update to tell her," she said, smiling.

"Make sure you mention the date."

"I will." Santana winked at me then got out of the car to get into the driver's seat. I did the same and got in the passenger's seat. Now, I just had to find a way to get through the day without thinking about this date. That was going to be hard.

"That's what she said," I said softly.

Santana turned to me. "What?"

"Nothing."

Note to self, cut down on binge watching The Office.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the support with losing my work. You all restored my desire to finish this story. I did try one of those recovery programs and sadly could not recover what I needed. Like some of you said, maybe I can make it better. :) And the guest who quoted Monica Geller, that was the first thing I thought about. :-)**

**A big THANK YOU to zachyntubbs for pointing me in the direction of an awesome fan art by ohvalerievalerie on tubmlr. So amazing. You know you've made it when someone does a fan art for one of your stories. :-p**

**I'll continue to try my best to update every Sunday, even if it is short chapters like this one. It just means this story is probably going to end up being like 40 chapters long.**

**Thanks again everyone.**


	15. Seeing Ghosts

The rest of week was super hard. That's what…never mind. We tried to find time to see each other at school but sometimes that didn't work out. After school, Santana continued to meet up with Holly and I even met with her once. Holly was really cool and wise. Not old people wise, but cool people wise.

I ended up talking to her for over an hour and I wish I had talked to her sooner. Maybe if I had, I would't have hurt so much. Holly set up some more time for me to go talk to her and she said she wanted to talk to us together later.

I told Santana that we should get her a present or something for being so cool.

I don't know how, but we made it the whole week and now that it was Friday, I got to spend more time with Santana. On Wednesday, she had told me she had some big weekend plans for us.

We were on our way to Columbus to look at colleges. At least that's what we told our parents. We left right after school and had each packed a bag to last us until Sunday. I still wasn't sure why we were going.

"So, are we really going to look at colleges?" I asked from the passenger seat. We had been on the road almost two hours and I was getting kinda anxious.

"Nope." Santana had this playful smile on her face that made me relax. She kept her eyes on the road and I was sad I couldn't see her full smile. "But, that was the only way my mom and your parents would let us go away for the weekend."

"What are we going to do then?"

She reached for my hand and brought it up to her lips and kissed the back of my hand. "I promised you a date," she said, "And I'd like it to be in a place where we don't know anyone."

I wish I had a thermometer now because my temperature was probably though the roof. My whole body felt really warm. "A weekend date?"

She kissed my hand again. "Well, I figure if we're driving two hours, we might as well stay a couple of days."

"Awesome."

She let go of my hand and put hers back on the wheel. "And it'll help me cross some things off my bucket list."

"Do you have a secret bucket collection? Is that why your garage is all cluttered? I never heard of bucket hoarders."

"No, not like that," she said with a laugh, "Holly made me create a bucket list, you know, stuff you want to do before you die."

"Oh, yeah, I think I saw that movie," I said. I think Morgan Freeman was in that one. I wasn't sure, I feel asleep ten minutes after the movie started.

"Anyway, this is a lesbian bucket list," she explained, "I wrote down all the things I want to do."

"Lesbian things? You're not going to get a buzz cut, right? I really like your hair."

"No, Britt. Don't worry, I'd be insane to cut off this Pantene commercial worthy head of locks."

I let out a huge, relived breath. "Thank God."

"This lesbian bucket list has things that are supposed to help me come out." Santana looked at her sideview mirrors and got out of the highway.

"Can I see it?"

She bit her lip and shook her head. "Not yet. When I cross everything off, I'll show it to you."

"Aww, come on, Santana," I whined, "Please. A few months ago you couldn't even say the word lesbian without getting upset and now you're making lesbian lists."

"I promise to show it to you, but only when I cross everything off. Look, how about I tell you things as I cross them off?"

"Hmmm. OK, yeah, that's a good compromise. Calendar word."

She kept her eyes on the road as she spoke. "Well, coming out to you was one."

"Check!"

She laughed as she turned on a residential street. "Another was taking a bath with you and also asking you to be official.

"Ooooh, OK, that explains that. That was sneaky." I giggled, "Wait, are these all about me?"

"Some," she said, "Some are things I want to do on my own and some involve other people. The ones about you, are the ones I wanted to do the most."

"That's awesome Santana," I said, "And it seems to be helping."

"It is," she said. She made a few more turns and pretty soon we were in a neighborhood that had rainbow flags on some store windows and on some street poles.

"Are we…"

"Yeah," she said, "I figure this area would help me be more comfortable. I want to hold your hand in public without looking over my shoulder worrying I'll see someone I know. I want to sit at a restaurant and cuddle in a booth. I just…here, we can be around people like me. Us."

The idea that she would drive two hours just to hold my hand was really touching. "That's sweet, but I don't want you to do something you're not ready for."

"I'm ready." She pulled into the parking lot of a fancy looking hotel and parked the car. "And you've been waiting long enough." She turned off the car, took off her seat belt and turned to face me. "I'm ready."

I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned in to give her a kiss. "Good. Come on then, let's go do gay things while holding hands."

"Let's go," she said with a smile.

###

We checked into our hotel and it turned out Santana had gotten us a swanky suite. One of her mom's bank clients had given her some vouchers or something for free nights. Maribel always got free stuff and it was times like this I had paid attention when she told me what exactly she did.

After we checked in, we went out to walk around the area. Santana held my hand the whole time. We went into stores and were around people, but Santana never let go. I saw her kinda nervous at first but when she realized no one cared, she relaxed.

For dinner we went to this pretty cool restaurant bar with karaoke and pool tables. Santana had reminded me to bring my fake ID so we could drink. This place was really cool and it was pretty packed but not so much that it was annoying.

I saw Santana look around at all the people, all the couples. All the gay couples. I saw her smile and it made me think of how far she had come. If this had been last year, she would have never even set foot in a place like this. Progress. So much progress.

We were sitting at a round booth near the middle of the restaurant and, as Santana had wanted, cuddling.

"I love cuddling," I told her, "But when our drinks come, I'm going to have to let you go."

"I know."

"And while we're at it, we are not going to be those couples who sit on the same side of the booth to eat when it's just them," I said, "You know how I feel about that."

"Yeah, yeah." Santana kissed my cheek and scooted away from me. "And you know I feel the same. I mean, that just gets in the way of eating. It's not very practical."

"I know!" Santana and I always made fun of couples who did that. Actually, we made fun of a lot weird stuff couples did and I just hoped we didn't turn into those corny ones.

"We are not going to be like those couples," Santana said, like she was reading my mind.

Our waiter, Stew, who reminded me of a more muscular Artie, came back with our drinks. "Ladies! OK, I've got an Old Fashioned and a rum and Coke."

"I'm Old Fashion!" I reached for my drink and brought it closer. I had watched and old movie where they drank this and I always wanted to try it.

"Now, what can I get you to eat?" Stew asked.

I looked to Santana so she could order first. "I'll have the steak burger and seasoned fries," she said.

"And I'll have the ribs and onion rings," I said, "Oh! And a small side of ranch dressing."

"Coming right up!" he said and winked at us before he left.

"Are you having fun, Britt?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"This is awesome," I said, grinning, "So far this is the best date I've ever been on."

My answer made her bashful. "Good."

"How are you doing, though? Being in public and around all these people?" It seemed like she was OK but I wanted to hear it from her. Santana was an expert at hiding her real feelings.

She took another sip of her drink and smiled. She reached for my hand and held it tight. "I feel, really great," she said, "This place is comforting, I guess is the right word. I mean, it helps that it's wall to wall lesbians and gays."

"And bisexuals," I added, "People always forget about us."

She smiled. "And bisexuals." She looked around the bar again. "I don't think I've ever seen so many gays all in one place. Honestly, in Lima, it feels like I'm the only lesbian there."

"You actually might be," I teased.

She got closer to me again and gave me a kiss. "There are a couple of things I can cross of my bucket list now."

"Really? What?" I was so curious about this list and I really hoped I could see it one day. Seeing it would cure my investigative journalistic, I think that was a word, curiosity. It would also mean that Santana was living her life as her true self.

"Well, holding your hand in public is done," she said, "And going to a gay club or bar is another."

"How many things are on this list?"

Instead of answering, she kissed me again. We ended up making out and getting lost in each other. I didn't even think too much about how Santana was making out with me in a crowded restaurant..

"Ladies!"

We separated and for a split second, Santana panicked. It was like she forgot where she was.

"Sorry to interrupt," he winked. He placed our plates on the table and gave us some extra napkins. "You two just disappointed all the single lesbians in this place."

"Is it cause they got jealous we looked really hot making out?" I asked. I wouldn't blame them. Santana and I were hot.

"Maybe," he said with a laugh, "You guys are fun. Next round of drink is on the house."

After he left I turned to Santana. "See! Making out in public gets us free stuff!"

"I guess it does," she laughed, "We'll have to test that out later when we go dancing."

"Best date, ever," I said.

Since becoming official, Santana had been so sweet. Sure, she was sweet before but this was on a whole other level. In all the times I had fantasized about Santana being my girlfriend, I had never pictured her to be so mushy. There was no trace of badass, angry, or tough Santana. She was like a sweet kitten.

We started eating and the food was delicious but I couldn't stop looking at Santana and thinking about her mushiness. "Mushy."

"What?" She ate a fry and then took a sip of her drink.

I finally took a sip of my drink and had to wait a moment to let it pass. That was some strong Old Fashioned fashion. "Mushy," I repeated.

"The onion rings? I'll make them make you fresh ones!"

Santana raised her hand to get Stew's attention but I pulled it down. "No, you. You're mushy."

"Me?"

I nodded. "This whole week you've been so sweet and lovey-dovey. It's been really adorable. I never thought you'd be like that. I always thought you'd be more badass."

She dropped her fry and pointed at me. "Hey! I'm still badass!"

I shook my head, smiling. "Nope. You're mushy and cute. You like to be my little spoon and cuddle. You like it when I play with your hair and scratch right above your left temple. You can't go an hour without touching, seeing or talking to me. Mushy."

Santana kept shaking her head but ended up smiling. "OK, fine. Maybe I'm a little mushy, as you say, but not trying to hide my feelings has made me soft."

"Mushy soft," I teased.

She picked up a fry and pointed it at me. "Don't tell anyone."

"Never," I said, "Mushy Santana is all mine."

She rolled her eyes, her smile now bigger. "Eat your onion rings before _they_ get mushy."

Best date ever.

###

The club we went to next was more crowded than the restaurant. Santana grabbed my hand and led me straight to the bar. We found an open spot and she managed to get us both drinks. After a few more sips, I had ended up liking the Old Fashioned and I decided that was my drink for the night.

"Kiss me," I said, "Maybe we can get these for free."

She laughed and put her hand behind my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. With the buzz I had from the drinks and the buzz I always got from kissing Santana, I felt like I was floating outside my body.

I pulled back and took in a deep breath. My floating self returning to my body. "He didn't see us," I said, looking at the bartender's back.

"Well I guess we have to kiss a lot more then," she said and gently bit my lip.

"Do you wanna dance?"

The people behind Santana got up form the stools they were sitting on and left. Santana quickly claimed both seats before two guys sat on them. "Take a seat Britt. Let's finish our drink then hit the dance floor."

"Deal." I drank a bit more of my drink and I realized I shouldn't have anymore until I burned off what was already in my system. I did not want to get wasted on my first date with Santana. We both turned to watch the people dancing and it just made me really want to get out there. I saw a tall red-headed lady come up to the bar and head directly to Santana. I frowned.

The red-head leaned in close to Santana and said something, but with the loud music I could't hear. Santana just shook her head and ignored the woman. I smiled.

"Did she ask you to dance?" I asked, once that lady was gone.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Yeah."

Before I could say anything else, another lady came up to Santana. I was starting to hate this club.

Santana ignored that woman too then got up and stood in front of me. "So fucking annoying. I can't even enjoy my drink."

"You're like lesbian catnip," I said, "I gotta keep my eye on you."

She finished her drink and set it on the bar behind me. "If that means, you only looking at me the rest of the night, please do. I don't want your attention on anyone else."

"Well, it's not like anyone is coming up to me," I shrugged, "No one's hit on me."

"That's because I gave anyone who looked at you, my evil glare."

She narrowed her eyes and set her jaw, showing me her evil glare. It made me laugh. "Good, cause I thought was was losing my touch."

"Believe me, your are not." She put her hands on my thighs and started caressing me. "But that touch is only for me."

One thing I learned about Santana since we became official was that she was kinda possessive. Not in a stalker, creepy way though, more like protective. Every time she said something about me being only hers or her being only mine, it made my whole body vibrate.

I finished up my drink and set it on the bar next to her's. "Let's go dance!"

She laughed and took my hand then headed out to the dance floor.

Almost two hours later, I took Santana's hand and led her back to the bar. Since almost everyone was dancing, I found an empty spot a the bar and claimed it before anyone else did. The bartender remembered us and had our drink order ready really fast.

"Old Fashioned and rum and Coke!" he said.

"I needz ma drink!" Santana shouted and grabbed her drink. Before I cold even sip mine, she had finished half of hers.

I was so thirsty and hot and the drink cooled me down but it just made me more thirsty. I got the bartender's attention again and asked for a water. When I got it, I finished almost half real quick and made Santana finished other rest. She needed it.

"You want more?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I'm good. Oh man, it's hot in here."

"But fun."

"Lot's of fun," she said with a laugh, "This place is great. We need to come back."

"For sure!"

"I think we…." Santana stopped talking and her eyes got really big. She was looking at something behind me but when I turned around, all I saw were people dancing.

"What's wrong?" She didn't move and kept starring at the crowd. She looked scared. "Do you see a ghost?"

She took a long breath and finally spoke. "Is that….is that….behind you, by the stage….is that Sue?"

I turned around and looked towards the stage. I did see a tall short haired blond woman that did look like Sue from the side and had to squint to make sure it wasn't her. When the woman turned around and I was able to get a good look, I smiled. "It's not her." I turned to Santana who looked like she had seen the scariest monster in the world. "Honey, it's not her."

"Are….are you sure?" She used me as a shield and tried to see behind me at the Sue twin. When she got a good look, she closed her eyes and sighed, relief all over her face. "Fuck!" Santana shook her head and turned to the bar. She put her elbows on it and buried her face in her hands. "Fuck!"

I rubbed her back hoping that would calm her down and after like a minute, she let me see her face again. "Are you OK?" I asked.

She shook her head. "What the fuck is wrong with me? When I saw that lady, my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest."

"That lady did look a lot like her," I said, "I wasn't so sure at first. It's OK, Santana. It's wasn't her and your secret is safe."

Santana wiped a tear that had fallen. "That's just it. I wanted to come here to avoid feeling like this. I hate that I can't get past this! I don't want to have to drive two hours just to hold your hand!" She turned around and got the bartender's attention and order us drinks again.

"Santana."

The bartender gave her the drinks and she handed me mine. "Here."

I took it and took a sip. She took a big gulp of hers, finishing half. "Santana. It wasn't her. And it'll get better. You've already crossed off a bunch of stuff from you lesbian list and you'll get to all of them. You just need time."

She took another swig of her drink and finished it off. "I just…I don't want to feel like I'm hiding something bad. I don't want to pretend and I wish I could just snap my fingers and stop feeling like I do."

I took a long drink from my Old Fashioned and placed it on the bar. I wish I could do that for her, snap my fingers and make all those bad feelings go away. Sadly, my magical powers did not develop like my mom told me they would back when I was seven. "You will."

She placed her drink on the bar and then hugged me. "I'm sorry I ruined our date," she said into my ear, "I didn't think I'd freak out like that here."

I hugged her back. "You didn't ruin anything." I pulled back and gave her a soft kiss. "Today was perfect. So, how about we go back to the hotel and cuddle. It's late and I'm kinda tired."

She kissed me again and nodded. "Let's go."

I called the bartender and closed our tab. I then took Santana's hand and led her out of the club. On the way out, I turned back around again and the lesbian Sue twin caught my eye and she winked at me. It was really disconcerting.

Calendar word.

###

When we got back to the hotel, we changed and went straight to bed. We didn't realize how tired we were until we laid down. Santana kept apologizing for ruining our date and I had to keep telling her she had nothing to apologize for and to just stop.

We woke up around 8 then headed for breakfast. There wasn't much to do in that area but neither one of us wanted to leave so we just walked around and went to a nearby park. For lunch we went to a diner and then hit up more shops. By mind afternoon, we decided to go back to the room and watch a movie.

When we got to the room we changed into sweats and got comfortable on the couch, cuddling.

"Isn't this better than walking around?" I asked, snuggling closer to her. She had her arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer.

"Well, I was quite enjoying holding your hand and kissing you in public," Santana said, "But yeah, this is better."

I kissed her cheek then moved so I was laying down and had my head on her lap. "What kind of movie do you wanna to watch?" I clicked around the menu on the TV trying to find something good.

"Action."

"Sexy action or explosions action?"

Santana laughed and ran her fingers through the top of my hair. "Explosions is probably safer."

I clicked on one with Liam Neeson on the cover and put the remote down. She did have a point. Maybe sexy action was not for the best since we hadn't had sexy times in a while. As the movie played, I wondered when she would want to have sex again. I was willing to wait as long as she needed but I had figured that this would have been the best opportunity to, well, do it.

"You're over thinking something," Santana said softly.

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Because you're pressing your lips to the side and you've got these tiny scrunchy lines on your forehead." She ran her fingers down the bridge of my nose. "What are you thinking?"

"It's silly."

She turned my face so that I was fully looking at her, "Hey, nothing you think is silly. Tell me."

I sighed and grabbed her hand. "I was just wondering if you wanted to keep waiting to have sex again. Which, is totally fine. I just wasn't sure if this was a sexy weekend date or a cuddly weekend date."

"It can be whatever you want, Britt. I just thought you'd want to go on a few dates first. Like in the movies you mentioned."

I got up and sat next to her again. "Holding my hand in front of people, kissing me in front of them, and just being with me is worth a hundred dinner or movie dates."

She gave me that sweet smile she only had for me. "I…" she took a deep breath. "I love you, Brittany."

97% suddenly turned into 100% and I felt like my heart was soaring. I wasn't sure how a heart soared by that's what it felt like. "I love you too."

She leaned in and kissed me and we both forgot about the movie. We kissed for a long time, slowly and gently. We weren't in a rush and it wasn't anything like it was back in the day when it was like wham, bam thank you ma'am.

She was the first to pull back. She was smiling. "It seems crazy now," she said, "Hiding from you. Especially since you knew before I did who I really was."

"I think you knew," I said, "Even if just a little."

She got up from the couch and took my hand, pulling me up. "More than a little, I think. I just hoped that I was wrong or all these feeling would go away." She led me to the bed and sat me down on the edge.

"Feelings for me?" She took off her shirt and bra so I did too. "Or feelings for all ladies?"

"Love feelings for you," she said, "And lust feeling for some ladies. Sorry."

I smiled at her. "Don't be sorry. Lust feelings are totally fine. I have them too."

"For who?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Don't get sidetracked," I teased and winked at her.

She playfully rolled her eyes and took off her sweatpants and underwear at once. Then she took off her top and I just gawked at her. That was a calendar word I though meant duck guacamole and was disappointed when I found out that wasn't the definition. Anyway, I just gawked at her perfect body and I could't believe that I was the only one who got to see her like this. I guess she caught me gawking because she smirked at me.

"Like what you see?" she teased. I just nodded. "Good, because I want to look good for you." She got me to stand up and took off my clothes. It was her turn to gawk at me. "I used to sneak glances, you know."

She had me lie down and she quickly settled on top of me. "At what?"

"At you, when we slept together. When I made those rules when we started sleeping together. You know, like..."

"No talking and no looking," I finished.

"Right," she said sadly. She leaned down and kissed me and spread my legs with her hips. "I used to look all the time when I was sure you didn't notice."

"You broke your own rules," I said with a smile.

Santana rocked against me and I moaned. I was so wet already and had been dreaming of being with Santana again. She spread my legs wider and was about to slide down my body when I stopped her. "I want to kiss you."

She smiled and loved back up. She kissed me.

"I couldn't help myself," she breathed, "You're so beautiful."

All those times I thought I saw her look at me really happened. I didn't catch her watching me too often but when I did, I always figured I was imagining things. "So…so are you." Santana started rocking against me a bit faster and I was starting to lose my words.

She moved up and adjusted us so that her, very wet, pussy was rubbing against mine. "Ohhh Sa…'Tana."

Cheerios was hard and Sue made us do crazy exercises and stretches that everyone hated. I did at first but then realized that all that exercise made my body super bendy. And Santana's body too. Thanks to Cheerios, were are able to have some interesting lady sex.

She picked up her pace, never looking away from me. I loved when we did this type of lady sex because I could see her and, well, the amazing feeling of feeling Santana grind again me was like nothing else. We were both so wet, we easily set up a rhythm.

"This, this is your favorite, right?" Santana was panting, her eyes really dark and she was starting to sweat.

"Ye…yes!" We were both moaning and I felt like a thousand fireworks were inside my body. I tried so hard to keep my eyes open so I could see her but I just felt so good. "Saannt…" I couldn't even say her name.

She picked up her pace and I almost came. Being with her felt different now, it felt more special. She made me feel special.

"Re…remember when you, mmm, the first time...you made me squirt?" she asked, her mouth right against mine. I just nodded. "I want…fuck…want to make you…too." I could tell she was close too but was holding back waiting for me first and that just made me want to come even more.

"Ju..st look at me." could hardly talk now and I felt like my whole body was going to break apart. She kept her pace and never took her eyes away from me and I could see the she did love me. I could actually see it and it was unbelievable. I didn't think you could see love, but there it was. And just like that, I felt all those fireworks go off at the same time and I swear I left my body. Maybe that was another super power coming to life.

I felt Santana thrust against me a few more times before she screamed my name and came and fell on top of me. We were both breathing so hard and loud you would have thought we ran a marathon.

"My body feels like jelly," I said after I came back to my senses.

Santana laughed and kissed my cheek. "Me too." She moved a little and looked down our bodies and I saw her grin. "Looks like were even."

It was then I realized that I felt really wet. "Oh! I guess that's what happened when I left my body." Santana laughed more and I hoped I never stopped hearing her do that. Maybe I could make her laugh my ring tone. "And we're not even, Santana. This is my first time. You've done it like 50."

"No way! it's been once. Maybe twice."

I brushed some of her damp hair away from her face. "Are you forgetting who you're talking to?"

She rolled her eyes and quickly kissed me. "OK, fine. But I have not squirted 50 times. And while we're at it, why has it taken you this long to do it? Was I doing something wrong before?"

"Of course not. I told you, the lady sex research I did said it varies from lady to lady. Some do it all the time, some once in a while and some never. Trust me Santana, you are doing _everything_ right."

I was glad when she just nodded and agreed with me because I didn't want her to think she didn't satisfy me cause she totally did. A lot. A lot, a lot.

"And it's been seven times," I went on, "So you need to make me leave my body like that six more times to be even."

She grinned and ran her thumb against my cheek. "Is that a challenge?" I just smiled and and shrugged my shoulders. "You're on."

She spent the rest of the night trying to get us even but by the end, her count was up to eight.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again for all the great messages. I got a new flash drive and hopefully that won't happen again. I have to say, I didn't think this story would get this many reviews/follows. I really appreciate you all reading. **


	16. Fetch

I was working with a bunch of amateurs. No, correction, morons. I had been stuck in my weekly student council meeting for over an hour and now I was late for Glee. I thought being president would be easier. Like, I'd just order people around and they'd have to do what I said.

Apparently, this school was a big fan of democracy. All I wanted to do was use some of the budget to buy gum to hand out to the students after lunch. Simple.

A lot of the students here got a serious case of skunk breath after eating and I wanted to fix that. The morons at the student council said that was a waste of money. Everyone loved gum and getting free stuff. So, giving away free gum would make people happy. Making people happy was never a waste of money. Whatever, I was going to make an executive order and get it done.

I opened the door to the choir room and saw that I was the last one to arrive. I quietly went in and sat in the front row next to Rachel.

"…it's going to be a great song," Mr. Shue said. I had no idea what was happening but I figured Rachel would fill me in later. I scanned the room and spotted Santana sitting in the back row, our usual spot, looking at me with a big smile. I smiled back and she winked at me, making my whole body warm and tingly. "So," Mr. Shue continued, "I have some exciting news."

"Did you hear about my gum initiative?" I asked, "That was supposed to be top secret but I wouldn't be surprised if it leaked with those boneheads on the council."

Mr. Shue gave me a really confused look and I turned to see everyone had that same look. Except Santana, she was smiling.

"Uh, no," he said, "Umm, the big news is that I've been put in charge of producing this year's school play and I've decided we are doing a musical."

"Funny Girl?" Rachel practically jumped up, so excited that it made me laugh a a little. Mr. Shue shook his head.

"The one with the cats!" I said, "Oh, can I bring Lord Tubbington to see it? I mean, I assume with a play about cats, that all cats get in for free, right?"

"No," he said.

"Is it…" Sam started to say before Mr. Shue cut him off.

"It's West Side Story!" Mr. Shue blurted out, "We are putting on West Side Story."

"Fantastic!" Rachel clapped her hand and stood up. "I'll make an excellent lead…"

"Whoa, whoa!" Santana said, "What makes you think you're getting the lead?"

"I'm the best suited for the part!"

"Says you," Santana said, crossing her arms, "We should all get a shot at lead."

"Santana is right," Mr. Shue said, "No one is automatically getting a role. We are doing this the old fashion way. Auditions in the auditorium tomorrow.."

I groaned a little. I already knew I wasn't going to audition for anything. And with Mr. Shue saying things were going to be old fashion just made me think of my new favorite drink, the one I had this past weekend on my amazing date with my girlfriend. It still felt weird saying that but a good weird. I looked at Santana again and she was talking to Tina about the play. She must have sensed me looking because she looked at me and I saw her try not to smile. We had to be really careful.

Mr. Shue took out a bunch of workbooks with the play's music on them and told the class to spend the rest of the time choosing a song for the audition. Rachel was the first one to grab a book, naturally. Everyone else got up and got one and soon everyone was singing or playing an instrument to the songs. I just stayed in my seat and took out my journal, the one Quinn gave me, and started writing more presidential ideas. Someone sat next to me and I didn't even have to look up to know it was Santana. I smiled.

"You don't want a part?" she asked. I kept writing in my journal because if I looked up at her, I'd probably kiss her. "Nah. I think I'll skip this one."

She leaned in closer. "I really want to kiss you right now," she whispered. I smiled bigger.

"Glee will be over in an hour," I whispered back. I heard her hum and I quickly glanced at her and she was biting her lip, looking at me.

"Ugh!" We both jumped up, startled when Quinn came and sat next to me. "I don't even want to be in this thing."

"Me neither," I said, hoping she hadn't caught us being all flirty with each other.

"Maybe you guys can be one of the ones in the white gang, " Santana suggested.

"I guess that'll work," Quinn said, "As long as I don't have to practice much."

"A true theatre star," Santana said with a laugh.

"So where were you guys this weekend?" Quinn asked.

I stopped writing and totally froze. Luckily Santana didn't react like I did. "Just hanging out," she said.

"Where?" Quinn asked. I looked over at her and she had this weird look on her face, like she was playing a game.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "The movies. What's with all the questions, Ms. Nosey."

Quinn smiled. "My mom and I ran into both your moms at the mall on Saturday and they said you guys were in Columbus looking at colleges."

I had the sinking suspicion Quinn knew stuff. I wasn't sure how much, but I was sure she knew a little. Or at least suspected and I hoped Santana didn't freak out.

"If you knew where we were then why the fuck are you acting all weird?" Santana asked, annoyed.

Quinn just grinned. "Because you wouldn't be caught dead going to school in Columbus. So that leaves me to conclude that you two went to Columbus to party or to do…other types of exploring."

"What the hell does that mean?" Santana got that tone that said she was about to get really mean. It was a defense mechanic. I think that was the word.

"Maybe I _do_ want to audition for a part!" I said and closed my journal, "Quinn, come on, let's go see about those white people parts."

I got up and grabbed Quinn's hand dragging her to the piano where all the workbooks were.

Yeah, Quinn knew something.

###

It turned out, Quinn and I didn't have to audition to be white people, we just got the part. I still went to the auditions because I wanted to see Santana sing and just as I figured, she was the best one.

The next day, Mr. Shue posted the call sheet and Santana got the part she wanted, which wasn't the lead. After reading her name I pulled her into an empty classroom and locked the door.

"You were so good in your audition," I said and gave her a kiss.

She put her arms around my neck and kissed me back. "Thanks. And thank you for coming to see me. I really liked seeing you out in the audience."

I ran my hands up and down her back before finally resting them on her butt. She had the most amazing ass. "I liked watching you."

That made her bashful and it made me smile. She kissed me again before she spoke. "I've missed sleeping next to you this week. I wish we could go back to that hotel room in Columbus."

I gently squeezed her butt and gave her a quick kiss. "Mushy Santana makes an appearance."

"She seems to be coming out more and more," Santana teased, "And Mushy Santana wants to take you out to Breadstix on Friday and invite you to stay the night since my mom has a date with her boyfriend and won't be home."

"How come you never call your mom's boyfriend by his name? You know it's Hugo, right?"

She let out a breath and groaned softly. "I know. I just…it's weird that she even has a boyfriend. I mean, she's so old."

"She's not that old," I said, "And Hugo is cool."

She let go of my neck and separated herself from me. "I guess. I mean, he makes my mom happy and he's really great with me. They've been dating for two years already. I'm pretty sure he's going to ask her to marry him."

"That's awesome!"

Santana just shrugged. "He's not going to be my dad."

"I know that, honey. No one will take the place of your dad. But, like you said, Hugo makes your mom happy and she shouldn't spend the rest of her life alone."

She paced in front of me for a bit before she spoke again. "What if…what if he has a problem with me being gay? What if he tells my mom that he can't be with someone who has a lesbian for a daughter? "

When she said that, something clicked. It was like I finally understood why she hadn't come out to her mom even though she was certain her mom wouldn't care that she was a lesbian. Santana was worried Hugo would leave her mom and it would be all her fault.

"Santana. You don't know that. And even if he had a problem, your mom shouldn't marry someone like that. You'd be doing her a favor."

She shook her head. "She was a mess after my dad died and she said she was happy to be alone but then Hugo comes along in his fancy suit and makes her happy. I don't want to take that away from her."

I went to her and put my hands on her shoulders. "You won't. Don't think about Hugo, just your mom. She's the one you need to tell."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. As usual," she chuckled, "How the hell did this go from a celebratory make out session to a therapy session."

"I'm like Dr. Fraud."

"I think you mean Freud."

"Potato, tomato," I sang and Santana giggled, "Come on, let's get out of here. You're buying me an ice tea."

"Yes ma'am!"

I hoped our little talk helped her and she would cross everything off her list soon. I really wanted to see it.

###

I was trying to decide between my flamingo shirt and deer sweater for my date with Santana when my mom came into my room holding a bag full of stuff. "What is that?"

"Look what your dad and I got at the gay store!" She put the bag on my bed and started taking out a bunch of stuff with the gay flag on it and the colors.

"They gay store?"

My mom showed me a bumper stick that said 'Proud Parent of a Lesbian' in rainbow letters. "Isn't this adorable."

I put the shirts down and went to the bed and sat next to the bag. "I'm not a lesbian, mom." I reached in the bag and started taking out keychains, stickers, a shirt and a towel. "Why did you get all this stuff?"

"Well, your dad and I realized…well, I realized, that we haven't been as supportive about your coming out as we should have." My mom took my hand and smiled. "I guess we just took it for granted since you've always been so open about who you are even if you didn't realize it. But, we are proud of you Brittany and your dad and I want you to know that we don't care if you bring home a boy or girl. Unless they're a convicted convict. Or a Republican."

I knew my parents loved me and supported me but they hadn't said it much lately, so my mom saying these things really meant a lot to me. I took a shaky breath and tried not to cry. "Thanks mom."

She got up and pulled me up to to give me a hug. "You're welcome, honey."

I hugged a little tighter before letting go. "See, now you made me cry before meeting Santana." I smiled and rubbed my eyes.

"You still look lovely," she said, "Is this a date?"

I quickly looked away and went to pick up my shirts again. "Just hanging out."

"Hmm." She picked up the rainbow towel and dropped it over her shoulder. "It would be pretty cool if it was a date."

"Mom!" I whined. I really wanted to tell her the truth because I always told my parents the truth. I hated lying, mostly cause I was pretty bad at it, but also because I saw no point. The truth always came out and lying was just too much work. I was glad when my dad came in the room holding up a calendar with the gay flag on it.

"This fell out of the bag" he said, "It doesn't have a word a day on here but it's got cool pictures. What is….Lagbgat? Is that French?"

"No dad, it's not a word. You say all the letters separately," I explained, smiling.

"Oh, OK." He looked at the calendar again. "Which letter are you?"

"B" I said.

"Like for your name! Look at that." He was smiling really big and looking at the cover, "I like the colors."

I shook my head, and laughed. My dad was so weird and I loved it. I went over to him and gave him a hug. "Thanks dad."

"Come on Pierce," my mom said, "Let's go put this stuff around the house and let Brittany get ready for her…hangout."

My dad let me go and picked up the bag. "Which letter is Santana?" he asked.

I froze again and wondered what I should say. Luckily my mom spoke up. "Come on," she said, "Let's go. Have fun Britt and don't stay out late."

"I won't." I watched my parents leave and wondered if maybe they knew something too, just like Quinn.

###

"OK, Britt, get anything you want," Santana said, "My mom got a $1,000 gift card for Breadstix from a client."

I almost squealed and picked up the menu to find something new to try. Whatever Maribel did at the bank certainly paid off. "OH! Shrimp," I said putting the menu down, "I want shrimp."

Santana laughed and put down her menu. "Just shrimp? Do you want pasta with it? Steak?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know….does it have to come with something?"

"There's the shrimp cocktail but that won't fill you up," she said, "You have the body of a hot model but the appetite of a sumo wrestler."

"It's a blessing and a curse," I shrugged, making her laugh, "OK, fine. I'll get the Alfred Fetch pasta."

Santana kept on smiling and I never wanted her to stop. "That sounds good. I'll get the Alfred Fetch pasta too."

The waitress came and Santana ordered for both of us but she called our pasta something else. Fetuchacho something. Anyway, I didn't worry, I trusted her. When the food came I got my creamy pasta and my order of shrimp. It was so good. We ate and talked about the play and random things. I always loved talking to her but ever since she came out to me, our conversations were even better. She was just…Santana.

Now, I felt like I could talk to her about anything, a feeling I never had before. I hoped that our conversations were this easy when we were in different cities for colleges.

College.

I had been so wrapped up in Santana, I sort of forgot that was still coming up. We still had a few months before we would find out, but now that Santana and I were together, I didn't want that day to come. I still hadn't told her I wasn't going to Chicago and I told myself I wouldn't until I was sure I got into the LA and New York schools I wanted. If I didn't get into those schools, I would go to Chicago with her.

OK, maybe there were some things I couldn't talk to her about.

When we were almost done with our food, Santana reached for my hand and took in in hers. "So, how am I doing in the girlfriend department?"

I swallowed the last bit of shrimp I had in my mouth. "A for Awesome."

She smiled and intertwined our fingers. "I think I can do better."

"I could do better too," I said, "How about I do all the date stuff for next week? Ever since we became official, you've commandeered all the date planning."

"Calendar word?" she asked with a soft laugh.

I nodded. "Anyway, let me plan some stuff."

She squeezed my hand and nodded. "I'm all yours. I guess I have sort of taken over but I just…I just feel like I need to make things up to you. You know, for all the shit I put you through."

"When you told me how you felt and and when you came out to me, that was the day you made it all up to me." She smiled and nodded slowly but I could tell that she didn't think that was enough but I didn't push it anymore. I knew Santana wouldn't think a million dates would be enough.

"Anything else ladies?"

Santana let go of my hand so fast she almost knocked over her water. I told the waiter that all we needed was the check and he left.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "It's like a knee jerk reaction."

"It's fine," I told her.

"No, it's not," she said. She grabbed her water glass and took a long drink. When she was done, she put it down and sat back. "I told you I didn't want to feel like I was doing anything wrong. Especially not with you. I hated that feeling at the club when I thought that was Sue and I told myself I would do something about that."

"Like what?"

"Tell people."

"Te…tell people? Like, tell them you're a lesbian?" I asked, my voice really low.

"I have to. I told you I'd try and I think it's time others knew who I am. Right now it's just you and Holly that know here in Lima. I think it'll be better if I just tell people in waves instead of one big announcement. I don't think I could handle if everyone knew at once."

I didn't know what to say. Part of me wanted to jump up and down and tell her this was amazing news and that it was time everyone knew the real her. Another part of me was worried that she was rushing to do this because of me and it would backfire somehow. "You don't have to do this for me, you know."

"I'm not," she said, "Well, maybe a little but I'm doing it for me. I have to cross some things off my list that don't involve you. One of them is telling someone in Lima and another one was telling someone in my family, which I did yesterday."

I sat up straight and shook my head, hoping I heard her right. "You…did you tell your mom?"

"Not yet," she said with a sad smile, "I will. I told Gloria."

I felt the ends of my lips stretch into a smile. "You did?"

She smiled really big and nodded. "I did. She called me and we just started talking and we ended up talking about Mario…and I just, I just blurted it out."

Santana had talked to Mario a few weeks ago and she had been really supportive. Most of the family still ignored the fact that he was gay but he didn't care. I still worried how Santana's family would react to her news. She was so focused on coming out to herself that she had pushed the rest of her family to the back of her mind.

"What did she say?" I held my breath and I expected the worst. Gloria was really cool and she defended Mario when that whole thing went down, but I still worried.

Santana laughed. "She told me she had a strong suspicion I was gay and her very first question was about you."

"Me?"

"She wanted to know if I was, and I quote, 'locking Britt down'. God, she's such a nerd."

I started to blink really fast and tried to process everything. Did this mean someone knew about us? "What did you say?"

"I told her about us. I told her that you were my girlfriend and that I was in love with you."

I slumped back in my seat, feeling like all the wind got knocked out of me. She told someone. Someone knew about us. We weren't a secret anymore. "She knows?" I asked, trying not to let my voice crack.

"She knows," Santana repeated, softly.

I took a deep breath because I did not want to cry into the last of my Fetch pasta and shrimp. "Someone knows," I whispered.

"I don't want to hide you Britt and I am going to try so hard to get past this," she said, and I could see she was trying not to cry too, "Gloria was a safe person to tell. She'll keep it to herself and she's in another city."

I felt like I was dreaming but I knew I wasn't. "Who do you what to tell?"

"Quinn," she said without thinking, "The three of us have been a team since Freshman year, plus I'm actually really looking forward to her reaction."

"Quinn," I repeated with a grin, "I'm pretty sure she also suspects."

"No way," Santana scoffed, "She doesn't know what's going on."

I laughed and just nodded because I was 99.9% sure Quinn wouldn't even blink twice at the news.

Santana reached for my hand and held it again. "I still want to hold your hand." With her other hand she took her napkin and draped it over our joined hands. "But, like, under this napkin."

I was so happy right now that I just went along with her napkin idea.

"Oh hey, Birtt, I've been meaning to ask. Why is your house decorated for St. Patricks' day? It's still months away. Halloween comes first."

"Oh that. My parents signed up for some foreign exchange program and we're getting a leprechaun."

"Excuse me?"

"A leprechaun is coming to live with us for a few months." I sighed, "All I know is, he better bring me a whole bunch of Lucky Charms."

Santana looked really confused and I just shrugged.

I was serious about my Lucky Charms.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: I can't thank you all enough for your support. I'm sorry I don't reply to comments in reviews, I'm much better at PM. Just know I read everything and I look forward to knowing what you think. I've also gotten some great feedback on my old stories. So thank you to those reading those. **


	17. Suspicions

Today was the day the leprechaun arrived. I wasn't sure what to expect but I just hoped he turned to be like the one on the Lucky Charms box and not the one in that Jennifer Aniston movie.

"What time is this troll getting here?" Santana asked.

While my parents and sister were on their way to the airport to pick him up, Santana and I were in my room making out. In my bed, with me on top and kissing Santana's neck.

"I'd say in like two hours," I mumbled against her neck, "They were going to take him out to an American lunch after." I licked her neck then started sucking on that one spot that always made Santana make this really deep, throaty moan. It was so hot. "We have plenty of time."

"Mmmmm." Santana moved her head, searching for my lips. "Two hours, huh?" She didn't let me answer and kissed me, her tongue quickly inside my mouth. She had the most amazing tongue.

As soon as my parents and sister had left, Santana and I had stripped down to our underwear and T-shirts and cuddled. It was my idea. I loved rubbing our bare legs together. "How many times can I make you cum in two hours?" I smiled against her lips.

She laughed and wrapped her legs around my waist. "Umm…none."

"None?" I laughed, "Really?" I could feel how wet she was already so I knew she was totally playing around. I placed my hand on her stomach, right above the hem of her black panties and wiggled my eyebrows. I slid my hand down, under her panties and sighed when I felt my fingers slide between her wet, hot folds, then inside her.

"Britt…" she sighed. She threw her head back and her closed her eyes.

I started to go in and out of her slow at first and then picked up my pace, watching Santana's face change every time I moved. "I love watching you." She couldn't form any words and I knew it wouldn't take long now. Sometimes I didn't have to touch her for long before she came and it looked like today was one of those times. I circled her clit with my thumb the way she liked it and less than a minute later, she arched her back and came. I kept my fingers inside her until she recovered. "Another quick one, huh?" I teased.

She laughed. "Shut up. I've been worked up all day thanks to you."

"What did I do?"

"You've been super sexy all day."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "You're just a big horn dog."

"That too." She smiled and gave me a kiss. "Now, how about you flip us over so I can stick my tongue inside your pussy."

I closed my eyes and moaned. I really loved when she said that word, it was like my sex switch got turned all the way up in an instant. I really wanted to do what she said but before we had started making out, we had been talking about how she was going to come out to Quinn. "OK, but I was just thinking about Quinn."

"Excuse me?" She looked kinda mad. "Were you thinking about Quinn when you were inside me?"

"Eww no," I said, shaking my head, "Before we got carried away, you said you were going to tell her soon and I wanted to ask, how soon?"

"Tomorrow," she said, "I gave myself a deadline so I wouldn't drag my feet."

I leaned down and kissed her. "Good. After Quinn, I was wondering if it would be OK to tell my parents."

"Your parents?"

"I think they know," I said, "My mom asked me if we were going on a date when we went to Breadstix and that it would be cool if it was a date. And my dad, he asked me what letter you were. And I hate lying to them."

I thought she'd freak out but she just nodded, which really surprised me. "OK. I was actually thinking that maybe it would be better if I told my mom and your parents at the same time."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I love you Brittany and I want my mom and your parents to know that," she said, smiling, "It's really scary thinking about telling them but I have to do it. Gotta cross things off my bucket list."

"I'm so proud of you." I kissed her and let myself melt against her. Everything was going to be OK. Once she told her mom, everything else would be easier. At least I hoped. I got so lost in Santana's kiss I got caught by surprise when she flipped us over, her on top.

"I'm supposed to have my tongue inside your…pussy," she said and I groaned. I swear her saying that word would kill me one day.

"I get really turned on when you say…."

"Pussy?" She sat up between my legs and took off my panda underwear then spread my legs open really wide. "I know you do, Britt." She bit her lip and parted me with her thumbs. "That's why I keep saying it." She massaged me for a bit and I felt tingles all over my body. "Your pussy is perfect." I was breathing fast and loud and when she put both of her thumbs inside me I gasped.

She took her thumbs out of me then immediately replaced them with her mouth and I just let go and lost myself in Santana. As much as Santana loved going down on me, I loved it just as much when she did. The feeling of her lips and tongue exploring me, the sounds of her moans and the slurpy sound she made as she drank me, were like heaven. I wasn't sure how long she was down there cause I lost track of time and before I knew it all those orgasm fireworks went off.

I finally got my senses back and opened my eyes to see Santana hovering over me with a smirk. "Looks like you had a quick one too."

"No way," I breathed, "That was like an hour long orgasm."

She gave me a soft kiss. "Nope. You came just as quickly as I did. You're a horn dog today, just like me."

"Just two horn dogs in love." I laughed and Santana laughed with me.

###

It turned out the leprechaun wasn't a leprechaun. He was just some skinny, pale guy who didn't know how to talk. I wondered if his tongue was to big for his mouth or something because he pronounced everything so weird. I was so disappointed. Santana didn't like the guy at all and said that he looked at me weird. I just hoped he didn't put a curse on me or something.

He was nice enough, but he wasn't nice enough to bring me any Lucky Charms. Yeah, I already couldn't wait for him to go back to, uh, wherever he came from.

Anyway, I had more important things to think about. Just like she said, Santana called Quinn over to her house so she could tell Quinn she was a lesbian. Right now, Quinn was sitting on Santana's couch waiting for Santana to start talking. I sat in the lounge chair to the right of he couch and watched Quinn as she waited. And waited. Santana was pacing in front of her taking deep breaths.

"OK, you're making me dizzy," Quinn said, sounding a little annoyed, "For the last 10 minutes you've been pacing back and forth so unless you called me her to judge your strut, you need to start talking."

Santana took another deep breath and stood in front of Quinn. "OK. We called you here because we…I mean I, have something to say."

"Listen, if this is about some sort of threesome request, forget it." Quinn shook her head and crossed her arms. "I love you guys but not that much."

"No, you idiot," Santana scoffed, "That's not it."

"You couldn't handle us, Quinn," I said.

Quinn just rolled her eyes. "What is it then?"

"OK!" Santana clapped her hands. "OK, I'm just going to say it. _Imalesbian_."

"What?"

"I'm a lesbian," Santana said more slowly, "And Brittany's my girlfriend."

I turned to Quinn and she just pressed her lips and nodded. "Well…that's unexpected."

I watched Quinn closely and I couldn't tell how she took the news. She was just so…Quinn. Her resting bitch face made it hard to tell what she was really thinking.

Santana stood up straighter. "I'm a lesbian," she repeated, "Brittany and I are in love. And I figured since you're our best friend, you should know."

"Hmm."

"Do you have a problem with this?" Santana set her jaw and crossed her arms. She wanted to appear tough but I knew that she was worried Quinn would not accept her.

I was glad when I saw Quinn smile then laugh softly and uncross her arm. "Are you kidding? I can't believe you finally said it out loud. I was sure you'd go to your grave pretending to be straight."

I covered my mouth so Santana wouldn't see me smile. I looked at my girlfriend and she had the most adorable confused look on her face.

"Wha…what?" she asked, her whole body relaxing.

"I know. Or had a strong suspicion," Quinn said, "And I don't have a problem with it, quite the opposite. I'm glad you're out and maybe now you won't be such a bitch all the time."

Santana shook her head. "No. No way you knew."

Quinn kept on smiling. "I know you better than you think. Besides, I can't even count the number of times I caught you with your tongue down Brittany's mouth."

OK, that made me really laugh.

"What!? When?" Santana looked like she still couldn't believe that Quinn knew.

"Oh, let's see…" Quinn tapped her chin with her finger. "A few times when we had those Cheerio sleepovers, the parking lot of Breadstix, that Cheer camp Sue sent us to, that summer party at…"

Santana put her hand up and waved it around. "OK, OK, stop. I get it. But, like, why didn't you say anything?"

Quinn just shrugged. "What you guys do, is what you do. Not my business. At first I figured you guys were just messing around, but when it kept happening, I figured something was different."

I had the biggest smile on my face knowing that Quinn was more than OK with the news. I got up and went over to Santana and put my arm around her shoulders. "Totally different. And now you're the second person to know about us." I turned to Santana and kissed her temple.

"Second?" Quinn stood up, crossing her arms again. "I'm second? Who else did you tell? Was it Rachel?"

"No way," Santana said, "She's the last person I'm going to tell."

"Santana, be nice," I said.

"Fine," she said softly, "It was my cousin."

"See," Quinn smirked, "Already less of a bitch."

Santana raised her hand and flipped Quinn off making her laugh.

###

Two weeks later and we still hadn't told my parents and Santana's mom we were a couple. I don't know what happened. It's like I blinked and time sped up. We couldn't find a time where all the adults were free, then the rehearsals for the musical started and we got super busy.

Rehearsals were fun but a little boring. Well, for me they were since I was playing a small white people part. I didn't have to rehearse as much as Santana and usually, I just ended up sitting in the auditorium watching her.

Grand opening night of the play was packed. Sold out crowd. I got my parents and sister tickets and I even got one for Eva. I hadn't hung out with her as much, not since the day I sort of broke up with her and I kinda missed her. I didn't miss the kissing, just my friend. So, when I asked her to come, I was really happy when she said yes. Santana, however, was not happy I invited her.

After my part was done, I ran backstage to change. When the play was officially over, I went down to the audience to talk to my family and Eva. I scanned the room and didn't see Santana's mom but then I remembered Santana had told her to just head backstage.

"You were so good, Brittany!" My mom clapped her hands and hugged me. "You're a natural actress."

"Thanks mom," I laughed.

"Everyone else sucked," my dad said, "Seriously, that was some of the worst acting I've ever seen. Do they give awards to these? I'm sure you're a lock for an Oscar."

I let go of my mom and hugged my dad. He always said I was the best at everything and I loved him for it even though he was wrong most of the time.

"You were so good Britt." My sister hugged me next and I realized I hadn't spent as much time with her as should have. I wasn't being a good big sister.

"Thanks, munchkin," I said, "Hey, how about this weekend we have a sister day?"

"OK!" She nodded and had the biggest smile on her face.

I let her go and that's when I saw Eva standing there. "I'm really glad you came," I told her.

She smiled and gave me a hug. "You were really good, Brittany."

"Thanks," I said and let her go.

"OK, honey," my mom said, "It's past nine and time your sister got to bed. Do you need a ride home?"

"No, I'm good," I said, "I'll catch a ride."

"I can give you a ride if you want," Eva offered.

My mom nodded, "Good. Now, come on Pierce, let's go before you forgot were you parked."

My dad scratched his head. "I drove?"

As they were leaving, my mom turned back. "Don't forget Rory!"

Oh, yeah, the non-leprechaun who had somehow got a part in the play too. At least he did't have any lines. Imagine the disaster!

Once my family left, Eva and I got to talking again.

"Long time, no see," she said, sadly.

"Yeah. I'm sorry," I said, "I feel like it's my fault."

"It's not!" She shook her head. "It is, what it is. We just got busy and actually I think it was good to have some time off from each other. But, I do miss you Brittany."

"Me too," I smiled, "I miss my friend."

"I miss my friend too," she smiled.

"So can we start hanging out again?" I asked, "Like normal friends?"

She let out a laugh and nodded. "Yes, like normal friends."

"Awesome!" I was so glad things with Eva still felt normal. I was afraid after breaking things off and not seeing her for a while that we'd be like strangers. "I think the cast is going out to celebrate. Wanna come?"

"I'd love to!"

"Love to what?" I turned around and saw Santana, now wearing jeans and a blue shirt, coming towards us.

"Hey Santana," I said, "Look who came!"

"Hi Santana," Eva greeted with a smile, "You were great in the play."

"You're a long way from home, Demon Eyes," Santana said, ignoring the compliment. She stood next to me and I could tell she really wanted to hold my hand or touch me to show Eva to stay away. I just shook my head.

I was glad when Eva just smiled "It's nice to see you too Santana."

"Sure it is," Santana said in her best sarcastic voice, "Well, now that you've seen the play, I guess you'll be going back to your side of the highway?"

Eva got a weird look on her face and it reminded me a bit of some of the looks Quinn would give us when she saw us together.

"Actually, Brittany just invited me out to hang out with the cast," Eva said, "I haven't seen my friends in a while and I missed them. Especially Brittany."

Uh oh. I turned to Santana and she had that vein in her neck pop out and I knew that was trouble. "She's been busy," Santana said, crossing her arms.

Eva almost smiled but she bit her lip. "Actually," she went on, "I also wanted to ask Brittany if she would go out with me."

I turned to Eva so fast I think I pulled a neck muscle. "What?"

"Stay in your lane, Evil," Santana said and it sounded like she growled. Like, actually growled like Lord Tubbington does when I take his candy away.

"I wasn't aware I was in anyone's lane." Eva really did smile this time and tilted her head.

I snapped out of my shockness, that's a word I think, and grabbed Eva's arm. "Can I talk to you outside?" I didn't give her a chance to answer before I pulled her and dragged her outside. When we finally made it to the auditorium steps, I let her go. "What are you doing? We broke up or whatever and I told you I wanted to be normal friends!"

"Relax," Eva said, "I know and I want to be normal friends too but I wanted to check something. And I was right."

I was so confused. "I'm so confused."

"Santana has never liked me even though I've tried really hard to be nice to her. I never understood why, but now I do. It's you."

"Me?"

Eva laughed a little and shrugged her shoulders. "She likes you. And the whole reason she hates me is because we used to make out. My gaydar went off when I was around her but I just ignored it, but now I finally have confirmation."

I started to breath faster and shook my head. "No..she's…"

"She's gay," Eva said, "But looks like she's so deep in the closet it'll take a rope and crane to pull her out."

Oh no. No. No. No. I wanted to tell her she was wrong and that Santana wasn't gay, but I just sucked at lying. "Please don't say anything," I whispered, "She's…she's trying to tell people but not yet. Just, don't."

"Whoa, Britt." Eva put her hand on my shoulders. "Don't worry, I would never out someone. And, even though she hates me, I like her and I'd never do that."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I trusted Eva, I did, but having her know made me nervous because if Santana found out Eva knew, I was't sure what she'd do. "OK. OK."

Eva smiled and grabbed my arm. "Come on. Let's go celebrate with everyone."

She wouldn't say anything. She wouldn't.

####

We all ended up going out for pizza then to the arcade. Santana glared at Eva the whole time and I just tried to keep the peace. Like Eva said, she didn't say anything and it was like nothing had happened. We all stayed out pretty late and I was a little worried Rory would turn into a pumpkin at midnight so I asked Finn to drive him home at 10.

After the arcade, Sam, Artie, Tina, Eva and Sugar all went out to see some old comic movie that had a midnight showing and everyone else decided to go home. I knew Santana really wanted to go to the movie but she declined when they asked her. Part of it was because Eva was going but another part was that she didn't want everyone knowing her other secret. She was a big sci-fi and comic nerd.

On the drive home, Santana was pretty quiet and when she parked in front of my house, she still didn't say anything.

"If you want, we can go see that movie tomorrow," I said.

She turned off the car and smiled. "That'd be cool."

"Is that why you've been quiet? We could have gone with them."

Santana shook her head and unbuckled her seatbelt to turn to look at me. "Did Eva really ask you out?"

I turned to her, also unbuckling my seatbelt. "No."

"Then why'd did she say that? I mean, you broke up with her ages ago. Right?"

"Yes! Santana, I'm not cheating on you."

"I know, I know," she sighed, "I trust you. I don't trust her, though."

Since we were around all of your friends, I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Santana about what happened and I was a little glad about that. Santana was more secure in herself but I was still afraid something would set her back in her progress. No matter how small.

"She…she wanted to check something." Santana just looked confused so I went on. "She said that she finally knew why you hate her so much and that it was because of me. Because you like me."

Santana's eyes went a little wide and she suddenly took in a few short breaths. "What, umm, what did she say?"

OK, here we go. I was just going to say it. "She knows you're a lesbian. She said her gay radar was right but that you're in the closet."

Santana pressed her lips in a thin line and started shaking her head. "Am I just kidding myself that my being a lesbian is even a secret? First Quinn, now Eva."

I reached for her hand and brought it up to my lips and kissed it. "Honey, no. Quinn is our best friend and, like she said, she caught us making out a bunch of times. And Eva…Eva is like me, bisexual, so she probably has expert gay radar powers that picks up on that. Did Holly know before you told her?" She shook her head. "See. And besides, until you officially come out to everyone, people aren't going to know for sure."

Santana didn't say anything for a long while and looked like she was just thinking everything over. Finally, she looked up and leaned across the counsel and kissed me. "I need to come out to my mom. Soon. She's just been so busy with work it's stressing her out and I don't want to add this to the list. But I really want to."

"I know, but Santana, there's never going to be a right time. I mean, you were supposed to tell her weeks ago so I could tell my parents you're my girlfriend. You just have to do it."

She kissed me again before answering. "You're right. I just have to do it before she finds out from someone else. Like, what if Eva somehow tells her."

"She wouldn't. Eva would never out you like that. She won't"

"if you trust her, I believe you," she said.

I trusted Eva. She wouldn't do that. She wouldn't.

###

Halloween came and went and Santana hadn't told anyone else besides Quinn. She told me that being around Quinn was great because she didn't feel like she was lying. So I was kinda surprised that didn't make her want to tell more people. I didn't want to push her but at the same time, it felt like Santana was stalling. Her mom was next on the list and she had been so ready to tell her until her grandmother decided to come stay with them for a few weeks.

I still hadn't seen Abuela Lopez since I went to Chicago and I wasn't sure if I wanted to. She was a scary lady. With her grandmother around, I didn't spend as much time with my girlfriend as I wanted. Not only did Abuela Lopez take a lot of Santana's time, but it also made Santana really anxious and meaner than usual. I think Santana was afraid her grandmother would find out, and when Santana was afraid, she got mean.

The leprechaun, Rory, was still around do whatever. Santana still didn't like him and I realized it was because Rory had a crush on me. I thought it was cute, but Santana found it annoying. I liked messing around with him and made him believe that I bought his whole act of actually being a leprechaun. I knew the truth, but he didn't know that I knew.

Anyway, the whole act made him do things for me so I took advantage of that. I told him some wishes and he did what he could to make it happen. It was great and all I had to do was promise him my pot of gold. I had a whole bunch of those gold coins with chocolate in them from Halloween that I could give him.

He had also gotten to be good friends with Finn and Sam which was great because that meant I didn't have to hang out with him. Honestly, I sometimes forgot he was here and I wish Santana would too. She was so stressed about her grandmother finding out she was a lesbian that she took most of her frustration out on Rory since he was around. She even snapped at Finn and Puck the other day. I wished everyday that her grandmother would go back to Chicago.

I was walking to my next class when Finn stopped me in the hallway. "What the hell is wrong with Santana?"

I didn't like the tone in his voice. "Nothing. She's fine. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Finn made his confused constipated baby face. "Nothing. Look, Santana just went on some sort of rampage on poor Rory. I'm not sure what it was about, but he was really shaken up. Something about the only good things in the miserable world…or something. He was too scared to remember. Not to mention she keeps calling me Dough Boy. So can you talk to her? Just have her back off?"

"I'm sure whatever she said to Rory, he probably deserved it," I shot back, "You don't live with him so you don't know how annoying he can get. And, I didn't want to say anything but, you could stand to lose a few pounds. I've seen you scarf down a whole large pizza by yourself."

"Brittany, come on," Finn whined.

"Fine, fine," I groaned, "I'll talk to her. She's been really stressed these past few weeks so don't take things she said too personal."

"Well, she needs to find another way to deal with her stress and not use other people as her punching bag."

"Are you accusing her of hitting you, now?" I crossed my arms and tried not to get too mad but I didn't like him attacking Santana like this.

"What? No. No. Look, please just talk to her."

"I will."

Finn walked away and I continued on to my class. I wanted to believe that Finn was exaggerating but I knew Santana and how she acted when she didn't have things under control.

###

After school, Santana came back to my place so we could hang out since Hugo had invited her mom and grandmother to some fancy charity event. They had wanted Santana to go too, but she managed to get out of going.

We were sitting on my bed reading magazines when I put my down. "I need to talk to you about something."

Santana put her magazine down and looked at me. "I know. I'm sorry I haven't told my mom. But as soon as my Abuela leaves, I'll tell her. I promise. I just don't want to tell any other people until my mom knows."

"No, it's not that," I said, "But I'm glad to hear that. This is about you going after Rory with your vicious, vicious words. Finn said you really scared him."

She shrugged. "Good. He needs to know to stay away from you. I mean, does he honestly think you'll sleep with him because of this dumb leprechaun act?"

"Who cares," I said, "The only pot of gold he's getting are the chocolate coins."

"Ugh, I just want him gone already."

"He will." I took her hand and kissed it, "He's only here until the end of the school year."

Santana moved so she was laying flat on her back. "Fine," she huffed, "I'll be nice."

I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "Thank you."

"But if he continues to annoy me, or if he continues to drool all over you, I'm going all Lima-Heights on him. Again."

I kissed her again. "Deal. Oh, and Finn said you keep calling him dough boy." I giggled.

"Well, he is," she said, "He's just been annoying me in general with his ego and attitude. Like he's perfect and has all this wisdom to give out. He's clueless and he's taken upon himself to be Irish's mentor."

I laid down and cuddled her, my head on her chest. "Who cares about them. Rory will be gone in a few months and after we graduate, we probably won't ever see Finn again. "

Santana sighed and wrapped her arms around me. "You're right, I'll apologize to them tomorrow. I'm just stressed from my grandmother being here. Thank God she leaves tomorrow morning. Having her here just reminds me that I have to tell her too at some point and I don't think she'll take it well. She didn't take Mario coming out well at all. The only thing keeping my hope alive is that she wasn't as close to Mario as she is to me. I hope she'll see that I'm still the same person and she won't care."

I wanted to tell her that her grandma would still love her but I didn't want to lie to her. I didn't know. I was a pretty positive person, but I couldn't be positive about that. "Just focus on telling your mom right now. Cross that one item from you lesbian list first, then think about the rest."

She kissed my forehead and hugged me tighter. "I will. I love you Brittany. I honestly couldn't do this without you."

"I love you too and I'll be here for you." She kissed me again and we just spent the next hour cuddling and giving each other sweet kisses. I didn't want to think about Santana's grandma or the fact that I still hadn't told Santana I wasn't going to Chicago with her. I still had time.

###

I didn't see Santana for most of the morning. I really hated that we only had one class together which was after lunch. I missed her. Maybe it was silly since I had seen her a few hours ago, but I did. I missed her.

At lunch, I grabbed my tray and headed to the Glee table and everyone was there. Except Santana.

"Hey guys," I said, sitting down, "Has Santana come to the table yet?"

"Not yet," Rachel said, "Which is odd since she's usually here before you and saves you a seat. Not that she needs to save a seat since we have plenty. I always found that odd."

"I haven't seen her for lunch," Artie said, "But I did see her earlier and she seemed crankier than usual."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I didn't like this and had a really bad feeling.

Artie shrugged. "She just, like practically ran down the hallway, bumping into people. I figured she had to really pee or something."

I scanned the cafeteria and didn't see her and I was starting to get worried. I took out my phone and texted her. I waited and waited and no response.

"Brittany!"

I must have gotten sidetracked looking at my phone and didn't realize Mercedes was trying to talk to me. "Huh?"

"I said, I'm sure Santana is fine," she said, "She probably had to go to the choir room for some music."

I forced a smile and nodded. I scanned the room again and spotted Finn and Rory sitting at the jock's table smiling and laughing and I wondered if they had seen Santana. She was supposed to make nice with them earlier today and I wondered if they had seen her. Before I could get up to go talk to them, Quinn, who I just now noticed wasn't at the table, came up to me from behind and whispered in my year.

"I need to talk to you." I nodded and got up. "It's about Santana."

Yeah, I didn't like this at all. I felt like I had swallowed a rock and it was stuck in my stomach. "Where is she?"

"Where are you guys going?" Mike asked, "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Added Tina.

"Is this about that gum thing?" Sugar asked.

"No," I said, "I just forgot, I need to talk to Quinn."

"What about your lunch?" Rachel asked, and I saw she knew something was wrong. I couldn't hide things from her cause she could read my face like a music sheet. "Brittany? Are you sure everything is OK? Is it Santana?"

"Finish your lunch," Quinn told the table, "We'll be right back."

"Can I have your fries?" Sam asked.

"Fine," I sighed, "You guys can have my food, I'm not hungry."

"Score!" Sam reached for the tray and placed it in front of him.

I followed Quinn outside to the hallway. "OK, what's wrong?" I asked, "Where is she? Is she hurt?"

Quinn shook her head. "No, she's not. I haven't seen her but I heard something from some of the students."

"Heard what?"

"Apparently, she had it out with Finn and Roger, or whatever that Irish kid's name is, in the hallway before lunch."

"I don't understand. She was going to make nice with them. Call a truce." I felt like I was starting to panic. "What did they do to her?"

"I wasn't there," Quinn went on, "But now some kids are talking about how they didn't know Santana was in the closet."

OK, I was panicking now. "What?" I felt my heart jump to my throat and my breathing picked up.

Quinn looked just as worried as I felt. "It was just like three people," she said, "And they seemed more confused than anything. Did Santana officially come out and I don't know?"

I shook my head fast. "No. No. She was going to tell her mom next before telling anyone else. No way she'd tell some random students."

"That's what I figured." Quinn sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Then what the hell happened?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: I'm going to try to wrap up high school by chapter 20. The hard part is after high school because I forgot most of what happened on the show. :-0**

**Not sure if anyone noticed but I deleted the first story I posted. I reread it and it's a mess so I'm going to fix it and maybe add more to it. **

** Thank you all again and taking the time to review. You all are awesome. **


	18. Girlfriends Team

The bell for the next class rang and I still couldn't get a hold of Santana. Quinn and I had looked for her everywhere around the school and could't find her.

"We should go to class," Quinn said, "She probably went home for some reason."

I knew something was wrong, I felt it.

"But, why would she do that, Quinn? And even if she did, she wouldn't leave without telling me."

"I don't know," Quinn said softly,

"I…."

My phone went off, alerting me to a text. I unlocked the screen and saw it was Santana. "It's her. She…she did go home." Quinn moved to look over my shoulder at my screen.

Quinn put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "She says she's fine. Whatever happened, she probably just needs time alone. You know how Santana is, Britt. Go to class and we'll go visit her after school."

"Maybe I should go alone." I put my phone away. "If something did happen, it'll be easier to get her to talk if it's just me."

Quinn nodded. "You're right. But, call me if you need me, OK?"

"I will."

I went to class and finished out the day even though I couldn't concentrate. As soon as the last bell rang, I ran out of the school and jogged to Santana's house. When I got there, I was out of breath and sweating.

"Santana?" I shouted as I opened the front door, "Are you here?" I ran up to her room and I found her sitting at her desk. "Santana?"

She looked up and I could tell she had been crying. She got up and came to me and pulled me into a hug.

"Honey," I whispered, "What happened?"

She hugged me tighter and it just made me want to cry but I held it back. After a while, I heard her speak.

"Do you…do you love me?"

I pulled away from her so I could see her. "Of course! Santana, I love you. You're scaring me, what happened?"

She closed her eyes and breathed out. "I…" She opened her eyes. "I went to talk to Finn and Rory, you know, call a truce and…I was trying to be nice and I just lost it and then Finn just shouted across the hallway that I should come out of the closet and that you didn't love me. In front of everyone!"

"Oh, no." I could feel her fear and I wish I could take it away.

She shook her had. "I know I was mean. You know I can't deal with feelings and I just lash out. With my Abuela here…I just….I couldn't stop myself. Maybe I deserve…"

"No. Don't you say you deserve this." I said, sternly, "No one deserves this. He didn't have to do that."

"How the fuck did he know?" Santana sniffed and I could tell that she was trying not to cry again. "Maybe it didn't matter my being in the closet because, apparently, it's not a big secret. Fucking Finn knew! I feel like an idiot walking around scared that people would find out…"

"Santana, stop it!" I put my hands on her shoulders to try to calm her down. "You're not an idiot. You were supposed to decide when to tell people and even if they knew, they should have keep it to themselves. This is your thing to tell, no on else's."

"How did he know? We're not even friends. I mean, Glee friends but that's it. And don't even tell me he had gayer be….Eva!"

"What? Eva? What does she have to do with anything?"

Santana walked away from me and started pacing, now looking angry. "She must have told him at some point. They hung out a lot when we went out after the play. It's her, she…she said something."

I knew in my heart Eva didn't say anything and Santana just needed someone to blame. "She didn't."

"Don't defend her!" Santana shouted, "Unless you think Quinn told him? She would never do that to me."

"Neither would Eva!" I shouted back. "Look, I know this is scary but the only person you should be blaming is Finn for outing you. Eva is gay too, or half gay, so she would never do that. If you want to know how Finn knew, we need to ask him."

Santana let out a frustrated groan. "This so fucked up."

"Look, maybe no one believed him. Quinn said she only heard like three students talking about it so maybe it'll be forgotten by tomorrow. My next episode of Fondue for Two and PNN segment are filled with all that regular high school gossip. And there's a lot!"

Santana went to her desk and took out her phone and opened up her text messages. "Here," she said, handing me the phone, "Check out the twenty texts I got once school ended." I took the phone and began to read, my heart dropped. "See that?" she went on, "People asking me if it's true. People telling me I don't look like a lesbian. Frank from the hockey team telling me all I need is a real man. So yeah, it's not just three people Britt. It's the whole damn school."

I threw the phone on the bed and my shoulders slumped. I didn't know what to do and I hated the feeling. "How can I help?"

She took a couple of deep breaths. "You can go home and tell your parents about us," she said with a small smile, "Tell them we're girlfriends and that we're in love. I don't want them to hear it from some gossipy parents."

"And you?"

"I'm going to wait for my mom and tell her." Tears fell from her cheeks and she wiped them away. "I don't want her to hear this from those gossipy parents either."

I went to her and gave her a kiss. "Everything is going to be OK, Santana."

"I hope so."

###

As soon as I got home, I told my parents about Santana and they were so happy. My mom kept asking me questions about me and Santana and I told her as much as I could. Well, all the PG rated stuff anyway. My dad had assumed Santana and I were dating already. I really loved my parents and I knew how lucky I was that they were so accepting and supportive.

Around 10 at night, Santana called me and filled me in on her talk with her mother. I smiled listening to Santana say how Maribel had listened to her without getting mad or upset. How Maribel had cried when Santana had started crying when she told Maribel that she had been so afraid to be kicked out of the house or deported. Well, not deported but a fancy word for getting disowned. Maybe that would be a calendar word one day.

"So you two are OK?" I asked.

I heard her chuckle. "Yes, Britt. We're OK. More than OK actually. It felt really good telling her and…I don't know, things feel different with her. A good different."

"That's awesome Santana."

"And she told me that one of Hugo's nieces is also a lesbian," Santana said, "And they have a great relationship so I know I don't have to worry about him."

"See," I said, smiling, "I told you things would be fine."

"You did," she laughed, "You're a genius and I should always listen to you."

"You should. So, are you ready to go to school tomorrow?"

She stayed quiet for a moment and I only heard her breathing. "I…I'm going to skip school. I just need time to mentally prepare myself for the onslaught of lesbian questions.'

I had a feeling she would say that. I couldn't blame her though, since she was forced out before she was ready. "OK, but you will have to face everyone eventually"

"I know, I know."

She couldn't hide anymore. I hated how she had been forced to reveal this about herself before she was ready. However, I couldn't help that part of me was glad she wasn't in the closet anymore. I just really wish it had been her choice.

###

As soon as I stepped into the main McKinley hallway, people started looking at me. Some smiled, some looked confused and some I couldn't read their expression. I didn't like it. I ignored them and headed to my locker and began taking out my books.

"Is it true?"

I put my math book in my bag and turned to look at Kitty, one of the new Cheerios that had joined over the summer. "Is what true?"

"That Santana's a full on lesbian," Kitty smirked, "I had a feeling. Now I wonder if she ever checked me out in the locker room."

I rolled my eyes and closed my locker. "Bitch please, don't flatter yourself. Anyway, she left Cheerios way before you even joined."

Kitty shrugged. "Hey, maybe she snuck in for a peak."

"She didn't," I said, now getting mad.

"So you're a lesbian too, now?" Kitty crossed her arms, "It's no secret you play, or played, for both teams. Does this mean you decided?"

"What?" This girl was so dumb. "I didn't decide to be anything."

"I heard you and Santana are a thing, so I figured you'd made up your mind about what team you play on." Kitty shrugged again.

"OK, you need to stop talking because you have no idea what you're saying," I snapped, "Why don't you worry about how Tina is going to kick your ass for putting the moves on Artie, you know, her boyfriend."

That seemed to shut her up and she now looked really uncomfortable. "Whatever," she said, and walked away.

The rest of the day was like that. Dumb people asking me if I caught being a lesbian from Santana. Asking me if this meant I didn't like boys anymore. Asking me if Santana and I would make out in front of everyone at the next party.

I was back at my locker to put away my books before lunch and I could still feel like people were talking about me. Quinn had come up to me earlier and asked me if I was OK and if I wanted her to walk me to my classes the rest of the day. I told her no. Now, I wish I had said yes.

"Are you OK?"

I automatically got frustrated before realizing that it was Rachel asking me that question. "Oh hey. Uh, yeah."

Rachel looked worried and I really appreciated that she cared about me. "You're not." she said, "I heard what happened and I have to say, this whole situation is abhorrent."

"That was a calendar word a few weeks ago."

"Santana should have come out on her own…"

"Wait, you knew?"

"Sort of. I knew she wasn't entirely straight and it was especially evident when she was around you. Sometimes I'd catch her looking at you in a….non-heterosexula way." Rachel looked around as if she had said a big secret she didn't want anyone knowing. It actually made me smile.

"It's OK, Rachel," I said, "And you're right, Santana should have come out on her own."

"And you too," Rachel added, "You were outed too Brittany. I mean, yes, you're open about your bisexuality but you've never officially announced it and you defiantly didn't announce your romantic relationship with Santana. This whole mess isn't just about Santana, it's about you too."

I felt my chest get really tight listening to Rachel. She had a point. I never hid anything, but I never made an official announcement either. I didn't know you were supposed to do that. Were you? Like send out a press release? But she did have a point. I was outed too and my relationship with Santana was put out there before we were ready. "Thanks Rachel, for checking on me. I'm going to be OK."

Rachel sighed and squeezed my arm. "Finn had no right saying that. I wonder if he even knew what he was doing."

"Are you defending him?"

"No, no, what he did was wrong but you should talk to him," Rachel said.

I took a deep breath because I was getting angry just thinking about Finn. Rachel did have a point. "You're right. I should take to him."

###

After the last bell rang, I wanted to jump for joy. Today was not a good day. I opened the folder I was holding to check and make sure I had all of Santana's assignments. As I was walking down the hallway to the exit, I herd that mumbling voice I had heard for weeks now. Then I heard _his_ voice.

I made a turn and saw Finn and Rory talking. I stared at them for a bit and the more I did, the more angry I got. I walked up to them and before I knew it, I was standing in front of them. "Why? Why did you do that?"

"Huh? Do what?" Finn asked.

"Whadayatalkinbot Brittny?" Rory mumbled.

I pointed to the foreigner, "You stay out of this." I then pointed to Finn. "You know what! You outed Santana! In front of the whole school Finn! Why would you do that?"

"What are you talking about?" Finn looked like her really didn't understand what he had done.

"You shouted in front of everyone that Santana should come out of the closet. You told her I didn't love her."

"Oh, that. I was just so tired of her attacking me and everyone else. She needs to own up to who she is and maybe she won't be so mean all the time. I did her a favor."

I dropped the folder on the floor and pushed him. "A favor?" I shouted. "A favor? It wasn't your decision, Finn. She was so close to telling people and you ruined it! She was doing so good and you just ruined everything!"

"Oh come on, Brittany. It's not like Santana liking girls was a big secret," Finn said, "Since I meet the two of you, you've been all over each other. You guys are practically on top of each other in the choir room. Come on, everyone knows. It's not a huge shocker."

I was so angry. He didn't get it. I shoved him again. "It wasn't your thing to tell!" And again.

"Stop shoving me!" Finn stepped back away from me and Rory followed close.

"CalmdownBrittany." he mumbled.

Before I could step closer again, I felt someone pull me back.

"Whoa, Britt." It was Quinn, "Come on, shoving him isn't going to solve anything. Besides, you always want to stop the violence."

I took a few deep breaths to get my anger under control. I hated getting made because it turned me into The Hulk. I could seriously hurt someone one day. "Bruce Banner would not approve," I said.

"Maybe you should go with Quinn and cool off," Finn said, "We can forget this happened."

This time, it was Quinn who got mad. "You seriously don't have a clue, do you?" Finn just shrugged. "Well, Kurt is pissed at what you did and you can bet your _gay_ brother will explain it to you." She turned her attention back to me. "Come on Britt, let's go and check on Santana."

I just nodded. Quinn bent down and picked up the folder I dropped before we started walking towards the exit.

"But everyone already knew!" Finn shouted as we left.

We ignored him.

###

By the time we got to Santana's house, I was a lot calmer and back to my old self. I told Quinn all about everyone's dumb questions all day and what happened with Finn. Talking to her made me feel better. She was a totally different person than she had been when we were in Cheerios. She was calmer, more mature and didn't care about popularity anymore. I liked this Quinn. This Quinn and I were good friends.

"You should have told me," she said as she parked her car in Santana's driveway, "I could have been with you all day. Or you should have told Rachel. She was really worried about you."

I don't know why, but hearing her say that almost made me cry. "Thank you. I promise that if the dumb questions continue, I'll tell you."

"Good."

We got out of the car and went to the front door. I used my key to get in and saw that the living room was empty. We heard a noise in the kitchen and when we went to go check it out, we found Santana at the counter eating cereal.

"Santana!" Quinn practically shouted.

"FUCK!" Santana jumped up, almost knocking over her bowl. "What the hell? You scared the shit out of me!"

"Where the hell were you today?" Quinn asked, sounding mad.

She picked up her almost empty bowl and put it in the sink. "I just needed a day to figure out how to deal with this."

"Oh really?" Quinn put her hands on her hips which was a sure sign she was upset. "Did you think, that you not being at school today, that all the attention would fall on Brittany?"

That seemed to get Santana's attention. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, all day Brittany has had to deal with ignorant assholes who asked her if she contracted the half lesbian part of her from you. Or asking her how lady sex life was. Or…"

"OK, stop!" She walked to me and brought me in for a hug. "I'm so sorry Brittany. Why didn't you tell me? When I kept texting you, you kept saying you were fine."

"It's OK," I whispered in her ear and hugged her tighter.

She pulled back. "No, it's not. I should have been there and not left you to face this alone. I'm so sorry. I'll be there tomorrow and I swear I'll mess anyone up who upsets you."

I shook my head. "No violence. We have to be Bruce Banner about this."

"Did you get mad?" Santana asked and I loved that she knew exactly what I meant.

"Did she ever," Quinn said with a soft laugh, "She practically beat up Finn! Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't pulled her away."

"You did?" Santana asked with a small smile.

I shrugged. "I don't know what happened. I just saw him and got so mad. I know I shouldn't have but…"

"I probably would have done the same," Santana said, "But, how about you not get into fights?"

"OK, I won't." She looked really worried and I probably should have told her what everyone was asking but I didn't want her to get even more upset.

"Tomorrow," Santana went on, "We handle this like Olivia Pope."

"Perfect." I smiled.

"You guys watch way too much TV," Quinn said, "Anyway, now that that's settled, are you going to feed us or what?"

Santana rolled her eyes and went to open the drawer near the kitchen sink where she kept her collection of take-out menus. "Here," she said, dropping them on the counter, "But keep your order under $10."

###

The next morning, Santana and I stood in front of the school doors ready to go in and walk through the main hallway. At this time, it would be full of people.

"Are you ready?" I asked her.

"Almost." She reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. "OK, now I am."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and sighed. "No more hiding."

She opened the door and we walked in to the crowded hallway, Santana with her head held high. People stopped to look at us and I just hoped Santana didn't freak out. We were the center of attention. I heard some guy whistle and a bunch of people whispering but there were some people who didn't even give us a second glance. That was good.

"Hey, Santana, is that why you never went out with me?" some guy shouted and Santana ignored him

We made it to her locker and it wasn't until she had it open that she let out a huge breath and dropped her head a little. "Shit that was exhausting," she said softly.

"Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Fine. Better today now that you're here."

"I really am sorry about being MIA yesterday," she said, "I should…"

"Stop, Santana. It's OK. I'm sorry I didn't tell you when we were texting."

"We both messed up," she said with a smile, "But if we can get through today, we'll be fine."

We were always a team and this time we were going to be a different kind of team. A girlfriends team.

###

After everyone got their first look at the lesbian and her girlfriend, the interest seemed to die down a lot. There were still some idiot jocks who made gross comments but we just ignored them. Santana still wasn't comfortable and said she felt like people were watching her all the time. I couldn't tell her she was just imagining that because I felt it too. Oh, and I actually saw people staring at us.

When it was time for Glee, we felt better. Those were our friends and I knew they wouldn't judge Santana or me. When we stepped inside, Rachel came up to us.

"Can I just say that I think you two make a cute couple," Rachel said, with a big smile, "It's unfortunate how this was revealed but I am glad that you are not hiding your relationship from your friends."

She looked at me when she said the last part and I got the sense she was mostly talking to me. She and I had gotten really close and I'm sure she was upset I didn't share this with her. "Rachel," I said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about me and Santana but I couldn't. Not without outing Santana and…"

"It's OK, Brittany," Rachel interrupted, "You're right. But, just know, you can come to me for anything. That includes you too, Santana."

"Pffft," Santana scoffed, "If you think I'm tell…."

"Santana! Remember our pact." I said. Since Rachel and I got to be good friends I made a pact with Santana that she would be nice to Rachel. Or try to, at least.

"Sorry," Santana said, "Thank you Rachel."

Rachel lunged forward and hugged us both at the same time making Santana groan. "This Sapphic connection is just as I envisioned it, adorable."

"So you've fantasized about us?" Santana teased when Rachel let us go.

"If you mean fantasized about you two being one of the top couples of McKinley? Then, yes." Rachel smiled.

Mr. Shue came in and told everyone to sit down. I noticed Finn was the only one missing.

"Mr. Shue?" Santana stayed standing and I knew she wanted to tell everyone now. I started to get up too but she gave me a look that told me I didn't have to be up there with her. "I'd like to make an announcement."

"Of course, Santana." He stepped to the side and let Santana stand in front of the classroom

She took a deep breath and stood up straighter, playing with her hands. I thought about that one night a long time ago when we were hanging out in my room and she suddenly asked me if I wanted to practice kissing. Man, that felt like decades ago. I never thought I'd see Santana in front of our friends about to tell them we were girlfriends.

"OK, so," she began, "I've struggled with this for a long time and I was making progress in accepting myself and coming out…but, recent events have forced me to do this before I planned…."

"I'm sorry, Santana," Kurt said, sounding sad.

Santana smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. Anyway, it's true. I'm a lesbian and Brittany and I are together."

"Wait what?" I turned around and saw Puck, looking totally surprised. "Were you a lesbian when we were dating?" he asked.

"Yes Puck, I was," she said.

"Well, that explains a lot. Wait, I didn't turn you, did I?"

"Good grief," Santana groaned, "No, you idiot. I was born this way."

"Oh thank God,"he sighed, relived.

"So, that's it." Santana crossed her arms. "I'm a lesbian. Brittany's my girlfriend. If anyone here has an issue, you can go fu…"

"Santana!" Mr. Shue shouted.

"…fudge yourself," she finished with a sweet smile.

"Well said, Santana," Quinn said.

"Thank you, Santana," Mr. Shue said coming back to the front of the class, "I can assure you, that in this room, you will be supported and we are all here for you."

I was surprised when everyone clapped and cheered.

"Britt?" I looked up to see Santana standing in front of me. "Do you want to say anything?"

"Come on Brittany!" Mercedes said.

I got up and faced everyone. "Thanks everyone. I'd like this to serve as my official announcement that I am a bisexual. So there, I've made an official declaration. Calendar word."

"Calendar word?" Sam asked, "What does that mean?"

Santana grabbed my hand and pulled me to sit back down. "Official."

"Official." I repeated.

Halfway through class, Finn finally showed up and as soon as he entered, the room got really quiet.

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Shue," he said, standing in front of the class, "I need to say something." Mr. Shue nodded and stepped away. Finn stood in front of Santana and me. "I'm sorry. I had a long talk with Kurt last night, and I realized what I did. I was trying to help you but I did it the worst way possible. I just thought if you just admitted who you were, you'd be nicer. And to show how sorry I am, I'd like to sing you both a song…Cyndi Lauper's…"

Santana held up her hand. "Hold up. Don't you dare sing. Look Finn, you forced me to do this before I was ready and a song won't fix that. But, I do appreciate your apology and I'm sorry I called you a whale."

Finn smiled and looked so relived that his apology had worked. "And I'm sorry I almost beat you up," I added.

"I really am sorry," Finn said, "Can we just move on from this?"

"We have to," Santana said, "But I swear, if you out anyone else, I'll let Brittany lose on you."

I heard Puck laugh. "Wait, Finn, did Brittany really beat you up?"

"No," he said, quickly.

"Quinn stopped me," I shrugged.

"I thought you were anti-violence?" Rachel asked.

"I am! Except when you make Santana upset. All of you, just keep that in mind."

Santana leaned in and kissed my cheek. "My knight in shinning armor."

"I don't have any armor," I said, "I have catcher's mitt from when I played softball that one summer. Does that work?"

Santana laughed. "That works." She turned back to Finn. "Did anyone tell you? About my being a lesbian?"

Finn shook his head. "No. You and Brittany have always been close and always acted like a couple that I just thought it was obvious."

Santana groaned a little. "Apparently this was the worst kept secret ever."

"Brittany was the kink in your armor," Rachel said, "You could never hide how you felt about her very well. At least not to us."

Santana turned to me and smiled. "I guess not."

The bad and hard part was over. Now, for the first time, I only had the good and easy stuff to look forward to.

"Oh!" Quinn suddenly stood up, "Not to steal anyone's thunder but I just wanted to say that I got an early acceptance letter to Yale yesterday!"

Everyone cheered and congratulated Quinn.

Maybe the hard part wasn't over. I had to tell Santana about not going to Chicago. Soon.

**-tbc-**

* * *

A/N: It's not Sunday but I just wanted to get this out there. Thanks everyone for continuing to read this story. For the person who asked, I deleted "The Cat Sitter". I'm gong to clean that one up and rework it and post later.


	19. Time Flies

Being Santana's girlfriend was amazing.

Being Santana's girlfriend that everyone knew about was beyond amazing. OK, I'm sure there was a calendar word that also meant amazing but I hadn't gotten one yet so I'm just saying amazing all the time. Or awesome. Beyond awesome. Awesome infinity.

After a couple of weeks, no one cared that Santana and I were a couple. Here's the thing, teenagers have short attention spans and pretty soon, Santana and I weren't the center of attention anymore. It was really nice being able to walk down the hallway holding hands and actually being a couple. Things were so great between us that I really wished time would stand still. But it didn't. Actually, it felt like time was speeding up.

It was the first day of Christmas break and I knew that in a few weeks, everyone would be getting their college letters. Well, except Quinn who already got her letter early. She was still trying to decide if she was going to go to the Yale summer camp or whatever or wait until Fall. I hoped she'd wait until Fall so that we could spend more time with her.

The thought of not seeing Quinn everyday made me sad. Not as sad as not seeing Santana everyday, but still pretty sad. Yeah, time was going way too fast.

I was sitting on my bed looking through Google Maps exploring L.A. and New York. Both places looked really cool and I wished I could live in both. My phone rang and I saw it was Rachel. "Hey Rachel."

"Brittany! Have you head anything?"

"Today? I've heard lots of stuff. I heard Lord Tubbignton meow. I heard some birds singing. I heard my dad in the bathroom…I keep telling him not to eat curry…"

"Brittany, no!" Rachel shouted, "I mean, have you gotten any acceptance letters yet?"

"Oh, that," I giggled, "No, not yet. It's Christmas. All the college letter people are probably on vacation."

I heard Rachel breath really loud, like she was panicking. "They should have said something by now?"

"Who?"

"NAYADA! They should have gotten back to me by now…unless my live audition sucked. Did it suck?"

"No. You …."

"I was to pitchy! No, that's it, I ruined any chance…."

I stopped paying attention. Rachel got like this sometimes and I had learned that she just needed to talk it out and she'd eventually get tired. I was glad when my door opened and Santana walked in. I muted the phone so Rachel wouldn't suspect I'd stopped listing. "Hi!" I smiled.

Santana came straight to me and gave me a kiss. "Hi. Is that Barbara Jr. I hear squawking?"

I nodded and rolled my eyes. "She's freaking out cause NASCAR hasn't called her back. Or whatever that singing school is."

"She needs to calm down," Santana said, going to sit on my bed, "Quinn got her letter early because she's a big nerd. They won't even send those out until after the holidays."

"That's what I told her!" I put the phone to my ear and Rachel was still talking. "Hold on, let me get rid of her." I un-muted the phone. "Rachel. Rachel!"

"What?"

"Look, I gotta go but don't worry. You were awesome in that live audition and NASDAQ would be crazy not to accept you. Just relax and enjoy vacation."

"OK. OK. I guess you're right."

"I am. I'll talk to you later. Marry Christmas."

"I"m Jewish."

"And I'm Brittany," I said and hung up.

Santana smiled and reached for me. I smiled back and took her hands and she pulled me on top her, both of falling on the bed. We both started giggling.

"I'm going to squish you," I said and kissed her plump lips.

"I like it when you squish me." She kissed my chin. "I like feeling all your weight on top of me."

"What if I weighed 500 pounds?"

"Then you'd squish me for sure," she laughed.

We laughed and kissed for a while. I loved when we had fun like this and I was going to miss this so much. We still had a few months together but just thinking about it mad me sad. Santana must have sensed my sadness because she pulled back.

"What's wrong?"

I gave her a quick kiss and sat up on the bed. "College."

"Oh." Santana sat up to, facing me. "Look, yeah, it'll be sad not seeing everyone but we'll keep in touch with everyone. Well, most of them."

My hands started to feel clammy and I felt so bad listening to her talk like we were going to be together in Chicago. "I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

I took a deep breath and took her hands in mine. "You know I really like making my shows…"

"I know."

"And when I was looking at colleges I found four that had these amazing media programs. And….well…"

"….none of those are in Chicago," Santana finished with a sad smile, "So, no dance program?"

I shook my head. "I love dancing, but I don't want to do that as a job. I want to make TV shows or even movies. Or have a news show! Like that show The Newsroom, but not boring."

She was sad. I didn't have to use my Santana expertise to know that. "I know," she said softly, "After a few episodes of your cheese show, I saw how happy it made you and how much you loved putting it together. Then you started PNN and you loved that too. Deep down I knew that my giving you that catalogue with that dance program was just me kidding myself."

"I'm sorry." I felt my eyes start to water and I saw hers water a little too.

"Sweetie, no." She let go of one of my hands and caressed my cheek. "Don't be sorry. Where...where are the schools?"

"L.A and New York."

She let out a soft laugh. "Figures."

"But, hey, I mean, maybe they'll reject me at all those schools," I said, trying to make her feel better, "And Chicago has a good media department too. I could still go there."

"Britt, there is no way you are getting rejected from the schools you want. You're a freaking genius."

I couldn't help but smile. I loved when she called me a genius. "We'll see."

"My backup schools are in LA and New York," she said, "The marketing program at U of C is really competitive so I may not get in. So I could end up in LA and New York."

She was so sweet and I really couldn't love her more. Or maybe I could. "Honey, there is no way you are getting rejected from that school. You're a freaking genius."

Repeating her words made her laugh. "New York isn't too far from Chicago…"

"But L.A. is," I finished.

She leaned in and kissed me. "How about we wait to see that the letter say, first?"

"That's a good idea," I said, "So, you're not mad I don't want to go to Chicago?"

"No. I am really sad we probably won't be in the same city, but we'll figure it out," Santana assured me, "It's only four years…"

"That's a lot," I pouted.

"We'll have summers, holidays, Skype…., yeah, it's not that bad." She smiled like she really did believe what she was saying. I just wish I did. Any time away from each other was too much.

"Yeah," I smiled, "It'll be fine."

###

We didn't think about college letters all through the holidays. We started the Spring semester and ignored the fact that it would be our last semester together. We were so happy together that we didn't want to ruin it with college talk.

For Valentine's day, she bought me a song. All the stares and whispers of us being together were gone and we are the top couple at the school. Having the two top online shows at McKinley really helped me in changing public perception.

Santana had changed into someone completely different from who she used to be. I still couldn't believe that the girl who would do everything in her power to forget we were sleeping together was now telling everyone who would listen that I was her girlfriend. The longer we were together, the more comfortable she got with us in public. By Valentine's day, we were acting like the couple I always wanted us to be, a normal, public couple in love.

After Valentine's day is when all the letters started coming. Little by little, I'd hear people talk about how they got their letter. Some were happy, some were disappointed and I wasn't sure which group I'd fall into.

I walked into the choir room and Rachel ran to me, jumping up and down. "I got in! I got my NAYADA acceptance letter! I am surprised that they informed me along with other students. I feel I should have known sooner."

"That's awesome, Rachel!" I hugged her, lifted her up and spun her around a little. "You are going to be so good at NASA. See, I told you you'd get in."

"Thank you Brittany," she said, stepping back, "I guess I was worried for nothing. Oh, how about you? Any letters?"

"Just one, from mittens or something," I said, "I didn't even apply there but they want to meet me and said that I could have a spot if I wanted."

"Mittens?"

"I think that's what it is. It's spelled M.I.T." I shrugged. "It's some science and math school."

Rachel gasped. "Brittany! That's one of the top tech school in the country."

"That's what they kept saying. I don't know, I guess I'll talk to them. They said they want me to take a math test."

"That's amazing! Some of the top minds go to that school," Rachel said, sounding really impressed. "It would be an amazing opportunity."

"But they don't make shows there. I mean, I love math but I don't think I love it enough to make it my job."

"Of course," Rachel said, "I definitely understand pursuing you passion. Well, look, I do hope you consider a school in New York so we can be roommates like we talked about."

"If I get in," I said, sadly, "It's taking too long for me to get my letters."

"Hey, they just started sending them out. You'll get yours."

I was glad when the rest of the club started coming in, including my girlfriend.

"Britt!" Santana smiled and hooked her arm through mine. "Guess what? My mom texted me and said I got a letter from the University of Chicago. I think this is it."

Was it possible to feel sad and happy at the same time? I knew that was Santana's acceptance letter and I knew that I was one step closer to being separated from her. "I'm sure it is. Your quest to becoming commercial queen is about to start."

"We'll see." Santana shook her head and let out a soft laugh. I think part of her didn't want to go to Chicago anymore. Or maybe that was just me wishing that.

Mr. Shue came in told everyone to sit down so the could get started. I really hope I had a letter waiting form me when I got home.

###

After school, we went to Santana's house to look at the letter. She had actually gotten two but her mom only mentioned Chicago. The other one was for Columbia and I felt a big bubble of hope build inside me.

"You got into the New York school!"

I was so happy because there was now a possibility for us to be in the same city. For the past few weeks I had gone over and over the media programs from all the schools I had applied to and I was really leaning towards going to New York. I knew Santana had her heart set on Chicago but now there was a chance for New York. Well, if I got in.

"I got in!" She laughed. "I got in! And with a full scholarship!"

"Whoa, that's so great!"

"Come on," she said, "Let's go to your place and see what came in the mail for you."

We rushed over to my house to find it empty. My sister had a big game across town and they'd all be home late. I checked the mail and I had three letters. "Oh wow! Finally!"

Santana snatched them away from me and went to the living room. "Let's see what you got." We sat on the couch and Santana pulled out the first one. "It's from USC." She opened the envelope and took out a letter. "Hmm…, it says here that…."

I felt like I was going to explode from not knowing. "Come on, Santana," I whined.

She smiled and handed me the letter. "You got in."

I snatched the letter and read it. I got in. I got in to a school that had the top film and media programs in the country. "Holy shit."

Santana turned to me and gave me a big smile. "I'm so proud of you. I knew you'd get in."

I couldn't stop smiling, I was so happy and Santana being proud of me made me feel so good inside. "Thanks."

She winked at me and I felt myself blush. "OK," she said, "Let's see what this letter says." She pulled out the second one. "NYU, and they say…." She took out he letter and read it. "You got in!"

I snatched that letter away to see it for myself. "Holy shit, again!"

"Coast to coast acceptance," Santana said, "Just what you wanted."

It was what I wanted and now I just had to choose. I got that feeling again that I've been having lately. That feeling that time was running out. I looked at Santana and she was smiling but I could tell she wasn't totally happy. "What about the last one?"

"Oh, right," She took out the last letter. "M.I.T? Are they still bugging you?"

I groaned. "Yes. I told them I'd take their dumb math test. Oh! Which reminds me, they are paying for my whole trip out there for a weekend and they said I could bring anyone I want. So, what do you say? Free trip?"

"Wait, so you are not going to this school but still taking this test? Why?"

"Duh, for the free trip," I said, "Come on, let me take you on a trip. They said the test usually takes three hours but I bet you I can do it in half the time."

Santana laughed and shook her head. "My little genius. And yes, I'd love to go on a trip with you."

I leaned in and kissed her. "Awesome."

She kissed me back then pulled away, her smile gone. "So, I guess we really are going to different cities."

And just like that, my own smile was gone. "Colombia is a great school."

"It is, but I have a full scholarship to U of C and while my mom would be able to afford Colombia, I'd rather she give me some of that money and the rest she can save for her retirement."

"Makes sense." She did have a point. Santana's family had money for sure, but Santana and her mom weren't as rich as the rest. Sure, by Lima standards they were wealthy but by the Lopez family standards, they were just getting by. "Well, I guess we have a lot of planing to do for the school year. Lots of couples do long distance, we can too."

She nodded and tried to smile. "It's going to work because we love each other and we are not like other couples. We're perfect for each other."

"The best most perfect couple." I said.

We were going to be fine. Yeah, we were going to be fine.

###

By the middle of the Spring semester, everyone had gotten an acceptance somewhere. Kurt got rejected from that fancy pants Paris fashion school so he was going to go to some fashion school in New York. Mike and Sugar both got into schools in Chicago and I was so glad that Santana would have some Glee friends there. Mercedes and Artie were both going to L.A. to study music and directing and it made me wonder if maybe I should go to LA instead of New York.

Tina, Sam and Puck were going to stay in McKinley another year. Tina and Sam because there were only Juniors and Puck because he flunked out. That's what he gets for skipping class so much.

Everyone was spreading out all over the country and I just really hoped that we'd all stay in touch.

I walked into the classroom where we had out weekly student council meetings and was glad these were almost over. Principle Figgins had repeatedly rejected my request to replace the whole council with more competent members. So, I was stuck with the bonehead squad. Today's agenda item was Prom.

"Dinosaurs!"

"Excuse me?" the girl that looked like Rachel asked. I think her name was….no, I have no idea.

"Dinosaurs," I repeated, "This year's prom will be pre-historic. Picture it…styrofoam dinosaurs, cavemen and women outfits, large…"

"Wait, wait," the guy whose name I think was Brian said, "I thought we were going to do an ice theme."

"No, that's boring. We're doing dinosaurs and that's the final word." I didn't give them a chance to say anything and just left. I didn't have time to argue and it was my call anyway.

I rushed over to the choir room and announced my idea. Some were confused, some were a little upset and others thought it was a great idea. Well, mainly Santana but Quinn did just smile and nod.

"It's going to be a great prom," Santana said, "You'll see."

"You're just saying that because it's your girlfriend's idea," Artie said.

Santana shook her head. "No. Well, maybe a little but it is a great and original idea. You all can't see it but I can promise you, Brittany will deliver."

That's why Santana was be best girlfriend. She never doubted me and went along with my crazy ideas because she knew what I meant. I didn't think the same as other people and sometimes my ideas seemed crazy, until they weren't. Santana knew that and she defended my ideas. I loved her for that.

"Oh, and Kurt, if you bring Blaine, tell him to ease up on the hair gel," I said, "It didn't exist back then, and it won't exist in my prom."

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked, confused.

"Final word," I said and turned my attention to other questions. I knew that ruled didn't make sense since everything about prom didn't exist back then but I just hated all that gel Blaine wore. I was honestly shocked he hadn't gone bald yet.

By the end of Glee, I had managed to convince a few that my idea was a good one. Things would be so much easier if people just listen to me.

###

"How about this one?"

I looked up at Santana holding a blue, strapless dress with shiny fake diamonds on the neckline. We were at the mall shopping for our prom dresses since prom was in a few days. The weeks preparing for for the dance had been hectic. In that time I had officially decided to go to New York for school. L.A. had a great program too but New York was just as good. And it was closer to Santana.

I shook my head. "I don't think I want strapless. I want something different. And something that will go with a little hat."

She laughed and put the dress back on the rack. "OK, well, you've said no to every dress so far. You might as well wear a tux."

I smiled and jumped up a little, "Yes! I should wear a tux…wait, I do want to wear a dress though. I got it! I'll wear a tuxedo-dress! With a little top hat!"

Santana laughed harder and shrugged her shoulders. "If that's what you want, do it."

I stepped closer to her and leaned on one of the dress racks. "You're not afraid it'll clash with your red dress?"

"I don't care about us making the top fashion lists," she said, "As long as we go together, I don't care what we wear."

"You care a little," I teased her with a smile.

"OK, maybe a little," she said shyly, "But, if you want to wear a dress-tux, I'm sure you'll look really hot."

"Oh, I totally will." I winked at her and leaned in for a quick kiss. "Come on, looks like we have to hit up the men's department. I just got a vision of exactly what I want."

Santana just stared at me with a smile that started to turn sad. "I love you, Brittany and I can't wait to go to prom with you. But...I don't…I don't want high school to be over because then…"

"Hey, no." I took her hands. "We said we wouldn't talk about that yet. We know it's coming but, not for a few more months so let's not get sad before we have to, OK? Just happy right now."

She sighed and nodded. "Just happy."

###

On the day of prom, I spent most of the day making sure everything was being set up right. I didn't trust anyone to do anything right. I'm pretty easy going and don't like conflict, but when I'm in charge of planning important things, I tend to go a little….umm, controlling. Just a little.

When it was time to leave for prom, I insisted that I be the one picking up Santana. Abuela Lopez was long gone and didn't plan to return to Lima until the day of graduation. Santana still hadn't told her and that was fine. It didn't bother me. Abuela Lopez was like a stick of dynamite you had to handle carefully and Santana was the only one who should handle her.

I smoothed out my blue dress and adjusted my bow tie. My white tux jacket fit perfectly and I couldn't be happier with my outfit. Santana hadn't seen it yet and I really hoped she liked what I put together. I adjusted my white mini-top hat and walked out of my room.

"Brittany!" my mom shouted, "What time is Santana getting here?"

"Mom, I told you. I'm picking up Santana in the limo I rented. It's waiting for me outside." I raced down the stairs only to find my dad blocking the front door. "Dad! I have to go."

My mom came from the living room and joined my dad at the door. "We're going with you."

"Say what?"

"Listen, young lady," my mom began, "This is your high school prom and your father and I have been looking forward to seeing you and your date off to the prom. I need to take pictures. I've already started a scrapbook."

"Mom," I whined.

"So, your father and I will follow the limo to Santana's house," she continued, "And we will see you and your girlfriend and take pictures."

"What about Andi?"

"She's at a sleepover," my dad said.

I groaned. There was no way around this. "Fine." I went out to the limo, with my parents right behind me.

###

I walked up to Santana's door with my parents right behind me. I loved my parents but I hated how they were always embarrassing me.

"Pierce! Did you change the batteries on the camera?" My mom asked in a loud whisper.

"Yes! And I brought a backup camera." My dad whispered, even louder.

I rolled my eyes and turned around. "I know you're there so stop trying to you're ninjas."

My mom just hushed me and pointed to the door. "Go, don't be late."

I turned to the door and rang the doorbell. Maribel opened the door with a big smile.

"Brittany! Well, look at you," she beamed, "When Santana told me you'd be wearing a tuxedo-dress, I wasn't sure what to expect. But this? This is a great look."

I smoothed out my light blue dress then adjusted my jacket. "Thanks. I'm pretty proud of what I put together."

"Doesn't she look gorgeous?" My dad asked from behind me. It was then that Mrs. Lopez finally realized I wasn't alone. "I bet Brittany looks prettier than Santana."

"Dad!" I almost shouted.

"I'm just saying," he shrugged.

Maribel looked past me at my parents and smiled. "Whitney, Pierce. I wasn't expecting you."

My mom walked past me and went inside. "I wasn't going to miss my baby girl going off to prom with her date. Come on Pierce!"

My dad gave Maribel an apologetic smile and followed my mom. Even though Maribel and my parents hung out with each other and had a lot of the same friends, I always got this vibe that she and my mom were in some secret competition with each other. It was weird.

"Sorry," I said.

"Don't worry about it," Maribel smiled, "Let me get my daughter. Come in."

I had been so distracted by my parents that I didn't realize how nervous I was until Maribel invited me in. My stomach felt like there were a million buzzing bees inside.

"Santana!" Maribel shouted up the stairs, "Brittany is here.

I looked up the stairs and saw Santana slowly appear. When I saw her it was like I forgot how to breath. She looked so beautiful. We had decided not to show each other our dresses and only told each other the color. Seeing her in her perfectly fitted red dress, made me grin. I really had the world's most beautiful girlfriend.

"Hi," she said with a shy smile as she came down the stairs.

"Hi," I breathed.

She made it down and stood in front of me, both of us smiling like fools. "You look amazing, Britt." She reached up and straightened my bow tie. "I love your little hat."

"You look amazing," I told her, "Perfect."

We started to lean in for a kiss when a flash of light almost blinded us. Then another. My dad had started taking pictures.

"These are going to come out so good!" he said and kept on clicking on the camera.

"Dad! You're blinding us." I said covering my eyes.

"OK, OK, " Maribel said, "Let's take a few pictures of the girls then let them go not their way."

"You're just trying to kick us out," my mom said.

"You know that's not true," Maribel said, "I'm sure the girls are eager to get to the dance."

"We are!" Santana and I said at the same time.

I turned to Santana. "I'm so sorry," I said softly, "My parents aren't very good ninjas. They just really wanted pictures of us."

She gave me that smile that was only for me. "It's fine. Let's get this picture thing over with and we can get in that limo and be alone."

I smiled an nodded. We had the whole night together and a few more minutes of dealing with my parents didn't seem so bad.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update. I sprained my wrist and I'm still working on getting it better. Not to mention work has been insane. Thank you all following, reviewing and marking this story as a fave. I hope to get back to regular Sunday updates soon. It's just taking way longer to type now. :) **


	20. A Million Years Ago

We were in the limo on our way to school and I had a feeling this was going to be a great night. I wanted this night to be special for both of us. "Sorry about my dad turning all paparazzi on us." I turned my body so I was facing her and she did the same.

"Don't worry about that," she said with a small laugh, "It was sweet. And, now, we have like a hundred pictures. This is amazing, Britt."

I leaned in and lightly kissed her so I wouldn't mess up her lipstick. "I also got us a suite at that fancy hotel with the elephant fountain in the lobby for the weekend."

"Are you serious?" I smiled at her shocked expression. "Britt, that place looks expensive. Let me pay half…"

I shook my head. "Your mom helped set it up. It's free. I have our stuff packed and in the limo. I told her we were having a Glee party after."

"Are we?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Well, not technically. I mean, it's only going to be us in the room and we're both in Glee club, so we're having a two person party."

She laughed and leaned in and kissed me. "This is going to be an amazing night."

"Count on it!"

###

Prom was beyond what I expected it to be. I mean, sure, I knew it'd be a success because I put it together, but I never thought I'd have as much fun as I did. I performed a dinosaur number that was a huge hit and I had people coming up to me all night telling me what a great prom this turned out to be. I knew it would but I stopped myself from saying "I told you so" to everyone.

Santana didn't though. She kept telling people that they were dumb fro not trusting me. I had to tell her to stop and just enjoy prom. And we totally did. We danced, laughed and for most of the night it was like Santana and I were the only two people at the dance.

I wasn't good with words so I could never describe how beautiful my night with Santana was and how much it meant to me. It was like a dream come true. A dream I had been having since the day I met her where all I knew was that I wanted to be with her.

We took our prom picture and I made sure to order a large print and a bunch of little ones. Santana and Quinn got up on stage and sang a song. By the time the king and queen announcements were being made, I was starting to get kinda tired. Santana and I almost ran for prom court, I was going to be king, but we didn't care enough to campaign.

I was already president and Santana was First Lady, so we didn't need anymore titles.

"Are you OK, sweetie?" Santana had her arms around my neck, slowly swaying with the music. She was tired too.

I tightened my grip around her waist and kissed her cheek. "I'm getting tired. I've been up since four in the morning."

"Why the hell did you get up so early?"

"I had a lot of prep to do for the prom and our date," I said, "I had to make sure that everything went like it was supposed to."

"Oh, honey." She pressed our lips together and kept them there for a bit. It felt so comforting. "Come on," she said, pulling back, "Let's get out of here. It's almost midnight and I'm tired too. Besides, I'd rather go back to the hotel and cuddle in our pajamas."

I pouted. "Can we do underwear and topless cuddling?"

"Even better," she smiled.

She took my hand and we went to go find our friends and tell them we were leaving. Artie insisted we go back to his hotel for an after-party he had organized. Everyone was going.

"What hotel?"

"The Selan on Fifth," he said, "A bunch of us pitched in and got a suit, so you have to go."

"Oh, uh, can you excuse us for a second?" I grabbed Santana and pulled her aside. "That's our hotel and probably our floor since they have a suite."

Santana groaned let out a breath. "OK, well, that actually works for us. We can go to their room for like twenty minutes then leave."

I really wanted to just go to bed and cuddle with Santana but this was the last dance we would all be together. Besides, I had booked the room for the weekend so there was still time for underwear cuddling. "OK, let's do that. But, if you see me fall asleep in a corner somewhere, wake me up."

"Don't worry," she said with a laugh, "I'll take care of you."

I quickly kissed her then we went back to Artie. "OK," I said, "We'll go."

"Awesome!" Artie spun around in his wheelchair and lifted his hand up for a high-five, which I gave him. "See ya there!" he said and rolled away.

"Come on, Britt." Santana took my hand and led me to the exit. "Let's check in our room and change. I am not letting any of those boneheads throw up on my dress because they can't hold their booze"

"I already checked us in this afternoon," I said, "I have the key card in my bag."

"Always prepared," Santana said, "This is why I love you."

"I hope that's not the only reason," I teased.

"Oh, I have a long list of reasons."

"Hey, speaking of lists." We managed to get to the parking lot where the limo driver waved at us and brought the limo to us. "It's been a while now and we've done a bunch of stuff….did you finish your lesbian list? Can I see it now?"

In the last few months, Santana had mentioned her lesbian list and stuff she crossed off, which was a lot. She had to be finished with it by now, unless…

"Oh, my list." She sounded like she didn't want to talk about it and I think I knew why.

"Your grandma, right?" I asked as we got in the limo. "You haven't told her and I bet that's on your list."

"It is," she sighed, "But there are a few more things that still need to be crossed off. I honestly thought you forgot about that list."

"Nope. Genius mind, remember?"

She smiled and grabbed my hand. "I remember. I promise you Britt, that I will show you this list once everything is crossed off."

My curiosity was eating my brain or whatever the saying was but I understood. One day I would see that list. "I can wait."

"Thank you." She scooted closer to me and leaned her had on my shoulder. "I love you and this was an amazing night."

"I love you too and I'm glad you had fun."

I fought off a yawn and hoped I didn't fall asleep at this after-party.

####

OK, so I thought this after-party would suck, but I was wrong. I mean, it was being thrown by the Glee club and they weren't known to be much party animals. But, I think what made it so much fun was the fact that it was just the Glee club. Just a bunch of friends being goofy and having fun.

Santana and I made it back to our room at almost four in the morning. So much for sexy times. We were both just so exhausted. We got ready for bed and got in wearing only our underwear.

"I'm too tired for sweet lady sex," I yawned, "Topless, underwear cuddling will have to do."

Santana laughed softly and cuddled up against me. As usual, she was my little spoon. "This is perfect. We have until Sunday morning, right?" She yawned too.

"Mmm hmm."

Santana reached for the light switch by the bed and turned it off. This night had been perfect.

###

After prom, time sped up again. I wish I could make it stop but it keep moving. I really wish I had finished building the time machine I started years ago. I told NYU that I would go to their school in the fall and Santana told Chicago she'd go there. It was officially official. Santana and I would have to be separated for four years. Ugh, just thinking about it made my stomach hurt.

Santana was really positive about this separation thing though. She kept telling me that we would be fine and that since we were only 790 miles apart, it wasn't that bad.

790 miles. That was approximately a 109 minute plane ride. A 12 hour and 16 minute drive, unless there was traffic. We could take turns visiting each other, or she could visit me more since her mom had a million plane points or whatever they were called.

"Stop thinking about the distance," Santana said.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up. We were in the choir room for our second to last meeting before graduation. Everyone was happy and sad, just like me.

"I can't help it," I told her, "For the last four years, we've seen each other almost every day when school was in session. It's going to be so weird going to a school and not have you there."

She took my hand and gave it a squeeze. "I know. It's going to be weird for me too but we'll Skype all the time so it'll kinda be like we're together."

"But we're not," I pouted.

She squeezed my hand again and let it go. "Well, we just have to make it work," she sighed, "You didn't want to go to Chicago…"

"And you didn't want to go to New York."

"…right. Look, we've gone through so much to be together. Well, most of that was me, but the point is, we're in a great place now and we are not going to lose that."

I took a deep breath and just played Santana's words in my head. We are Santana and Brittany. Santany. No, Brittsan. No, that sounds weird. "I hope so. We're not going to be Siamese cats anymore."

"Just for a little while," Santana said softly, "Once we're done with college, we'll go back to being Siamese cats."

Mr. Shue stood up in front of the choir room and started talking about the end of Glee club. For this semester anyway. He went on and on about how sad he was going to be not having us here and I almost, almost cried. Mr. Shue was kind of a jerk and always favored Finn and Rachel, but he had a good heart. I was actually going to miss him.

"OK, so don't forget," Mr. Shue said at the end of the class, "You have fittings for your cap and gowns tomorrow." He got a bit teary and smiled. "I'm really proud of you all. It has been such an honor having you here. If it hadn't been for you, the Glee club would have never been resurrected."

"Like zombies?" I asked out loud without realizing.

"Uh, no," Mr. Shue said, "I just mean…thank you. All of you. Thank you. And I know that most of you will be gone, but we still have a few members who will be back to help build an amazing new club. A club that will have a tough act to follow."

"Hell yeah!" Sam shouted. "Don't worry, Mr. Shue. We'll keep the legacy alive."

Santana leaned in and whispered in my ear. "I loved this place, but I am never setting foot in this choir room after I leave."

"Never say never," I said with a smile.

###

The day before graduation, Rachel decided to throw a party. Not a fun, alcohol party, but a Rachel party. Rachel parties usually ended up us having a vegetarian dinner party. She invited everyone and to my surprise everyone said they'd go. I mean, it was probably the last time we'd all be together for awhile, so I wasn't be surprised everyone showed up. I was surprised that Eva was going.

I hadn't hung out with her as much as I wanted to in the last few weeks. After Santana had to come out and our relationship was made public, Eva and I didn't hang out as much. We both got really busy with school and stuff.

"Why is Demon Eyes going?" Santana asked. She was laying on my bed reading a magazine while I finished getting ready.

"I thought you liked her now?"

Santana put the magazine down. "The fact that she made out with you automatically puts her in the 'I will always hate her' category."

I couldn't help but smile. "What about Mike? Do you hate him too?"

"Yes! And he gets extra hate since he actually had sex with you." She made a disgusted face and shuddered and it made me laugh.

"Well," I said, "I didn't sleep with Eva so you can't hate her as much. We only messed around above the waist."

Santana narrowed her eyes. "Clothes or unclothes?"

"Both."

"OK, yea. I hate her." She picked up the magazine and pretended to read.

I went over to her and took the magazine away and sat by her. "No hating. I'm with you and I've totally forgotten about being with anyone else. Like, it's wiped from my mind and it feels like I've only ever been with you."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Don't mind me, I'm just being possessive again."

I took her face in my hands and kissed her. "I like it. But, you need to stop the hate. Especially with Mike since he's going to the same school as you."

Santana groaned. "And Sugar! How is it that I get stuck with your ex-boyfriend and loony Motta as classmates in college?"

"Well, like you said, the dance program is amazing and Mike wants to be a choreographer when he grows up. That school is perfect for him. And Sugar…"

"Who knew she wanted to go into Public Relations," Santana finished, "She's like a billionaire, you'd think she'd just want to travel Europe and spend daddy's money."

"You know that's not her," I said, "She's smart and loves talking and exaggerating things. Besides, I like that you'll have friends at school."

"I guess," she shrugged, "OK, maybe I do like that I'll know at least two people there that I'm not related to."

"Maybe they can be your roommates too!"

She kissed me and got up from the bed. "Let's not push it."

I smiled and got an idea. It would be great to have Santana live with Sugar or even Mike instead of living alone. Yeah, that would make me worry a lot less.

I'm sure Sugar would love the idea.

###

"So, there's no meat?" Finn asked.

Sam and Finn were looking all over the long buffet table Rachel had set up in her basement. I had to say, I was pretty impressed. It looked really fancy and there were so many colors. Just no meat.

"Dude, that sucks." Sam looked around the table again.

"What's the hold up?" Santana asked behind me. We were in a line to get food and Sam and Finn were holding everyone up.

"There's no meat!" Sam said.

"No there is not." Rachel, who was standing at the end of the table, said, "I do have a delicious array of meat substitutions."

"Fucking great," Santana said softly, "We're going for burgers after this."

"This looks good," I told her, "Just give it a shot."

When everyone got their food, we sat down to eat. Everyone from Glee was here, even , and while it made me happy, it also made me sad. I wondered when we would all be able to get together like this again.

The non-Glee guests included Eva, Blaine and Ms. Pillsbury. Shit, I was going to miss them too.

"OK, I admit," Quinn said, "This food is actually quite good."

"Quite delicious," Ms. Pillsbury agreed.

"It'd be better with meat," Puck said.

"Give it up Puck," I said, "Eat the fake meat. It's really good."

"Thank you Brittany," Rachel said getting up, "I'd like to make a speech." Half the table groaned. "Anyway, I just wanted to thank you all for coming to celebrate our last days at McKinley. And to celebrate with our friends from other schools, Blaine and Eva."

"Thanks for the invite," Eva said, "You guys have really become good friends." I smiled and tapped her back since she was sitting next to me. "Hopefully I'll see some of you in college."

"Where are you going Evil?" Santana asked, "Alaska?"

Eva let out a small laugh. "Are you ever going to like me?"

"Nope!"

"Santana!" I hushed, "Be nice."

"Excuse me," Rachel said, "Attention back to me? OK, as I was saying…"

Rachel went on to give this really sweet, but really long, speech about how much Glee meant to her. We spent the dinner all talking about Glee and getting a sappy and sweet. It was so bittersweet that Tina cried. But she always cries do I don't think that counts. Kurt and Mercedes came close but they held it in. Mr. Shue kinda cried, but he was like the guy version of Tina. He always cried too.

I think all of us were going to pull a Tina and cry tomorrow.

###

This was it. Graduation. The day I had been looking forward to my whole academic career. I stood in front of my mirror and double checked my makeup and hair. Perfect.

"BRITTANY!" My mom yelled from downstairs.

My parents and sister had been ready for hours and were already waiting for me by the door. "COMING!"

"HURRY! I HAVE YOUR CAP AND GOWN!"

I hoped my parents didn't drive me crazy today. I went downstairs and the whole ride there my parents kept telling me how proud they were and I almost cried.

"This is your journey to the real world. When things get real," my dad said.

"You're an adult now," my sister said.

"Almost," I said.

"Are you nervous, honey?" my mom asked.

"I feel like throwing up a little," I said, "So, yeah. I think I am."

"You'll do fine," she said as we pulled into the school parking lot, "You'll be perfect."

When we got to the auditorium, my parents went to find their seats and I went backstage with the rest of the students. I immediately found Mercedes and Kurt.

"Hi guys!"

Kurt looked kinda red and kept fanning himself. "It's fucking hot back here!"

"No it isn't," Mercedes said rolling her eyes, "Hi Brittany. Don't mind this one, he's been having hot flashes since we got here."

"I guess I'm just nervous," Kurt said. He unzipped his gown and flapped both sides around.

"We'll be fine," I said. I looked around trying to find Santana but she wasn't around so I figured that I could go to the bathroom before she got here. "I'll be back. If you see Santana, tell her I'm in our bathroom."

"Our bathroom?" Kurt asked, confused.

"She'll know what it means." I left Kurt and Mercedes and went to the bathroom to wash my hands and take a few selfles in the mirror.

I took some good shots and posted some on Instagram. I saw on my feed that Eva had posted some of herself too. I was bummed that our graduations was the same day and we couldn't attend each other's ceremonies. Pictures would have to do. I was in the bathroom for like 5 minutes before Santana came in.

"What are you doing?" She was already dressed in her red gown, hair down. She looked gorgeous.

"Taking pictures." I went to her and gave her a kiss. "Take some with me."

We ended up taking quite a few pictures and we realized we should probably get back or else we'd miss the line up.

"I'm going to miss this bathroom," Santana said, "We logged in a lot of make out hours in this place."

I looked around and smiled. We'd always come to this bathroom and locked ourselves in the handicap stall and make out. My smile slowly faded when I realized how unhygienic that sounded. "Let's make a deal that we don't make out in bathroom anymore."

Santana laughed. "Deal. No more secret bathroom kissing. Now we make out in public for the world to see."

"Well, let's not go that far," I laughed.

Santana took my hands in hers and looked at me with that sweet smile that was only for me. "I'm so proud of you Brittany. Thank you for making high school bearable. I don't think I would have survived without you."

"Me neither. I'm so glad we both tried out for Cheerios during Freshman year. I wouldn't have survived without you either."

We both had tears in our eyes and I knew we needed to leave before we really started crying. Santana knew it too.

"Let's go graduate," she said, "Then we can rule college, then the world."

"Now you sound like my dad," I smiled.

"He's a smart man."

She opened the door and we walked back to the auditorium.

High school was already feeling like a million years ago.

-tbc-

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for such such delays in updates. My wrist sprain was worse than I thought and couldn't type for a while. Still recovering but managed to get this short chapter out. Thanks for sticking with this. **


End file.
